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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26827993">Renaissance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enderwoah/pseuds/Enderwoah'>Enderwoah</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game), mcyt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AAAH okay im not very good at this, Can be Read as an OC Insert, Coronavirus Doesn't Exist, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Female Reader, First Meetings, Fluff, Gen, How Do I Tag, IT JUST DOESN'T, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV First Person, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Plot, Plot Twists, Reader-Insert, Realistic Among Us, Tags Are Hard, The MC (you) does have her own personality to an extent so yeah, The Skeld (Among Us), WE DON'T NEED THAT 'ROUND THESE PARTS, as an example, because if i say them now ill unnecessarily scare readers away, eventual angst, eventually, gleaming in the moonlight, i actually think you backed him into the corner with your sword, i forgot to add, no beta we die like men, no relationships - Freeform, over-dramatization of video games, x Reader, you killed dream in minecraft?, you pressed the tip to his throat as you stared angrily into his eyes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:09:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>51,508</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26827993</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enderwoah/pseuds/Enderwoah</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>(Y/N) (L/N), otherwise known as Skelpie to the masses, raids a certain streamer one evening as a spur-of-the-moment decision. It all goes downhill from there.</p><p>[Completely platonic reader insert in which you befriend basically everyone in the DreamSMP and join the aforementioned SMP. This was going to be all sad and then I decided that we need less angst and more cute things so! Here you go! Have a nice time living out your streamer fantasies!! :D]</p><p>[Also posted on my Wattpad :]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Toby Smith | Tubbo &amp; TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>177</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>938</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. OVERVIEW</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>.•☆•.</p><p><b><span class="u">KNOWN MAJOR CHARACTERS</span></b>:</p><p>(Y/N) (L/N): <em>[skelpie]</em> Decently popular Twitch streamer who started a year or so ago. Gets about 15k viewers on average. Recently turned eighteen.</p><p>Eliza: <em>[NovaNova]</em> Sassy Twitch streamer with a chill personality. (Y/N)'s best friend. Seventeen years old, 6'3".</p><p>Tommy: <em>[Tommyinnit]</em> Sixteen-year-old Twitch streamer (YouTuber) with a loud, abrasive personality. Friends with Eliza and (Y/N).</p><p>Casey (L/N): Your younger brother. Fifteen years old upon last check.</p><p><em>[Dream]:</em> Very popular Minecraft streamer. Acquaintances with (Y/N).</p><p>Wilbur: <em>[WilburSoot]</em> Twenty-three-year-old streamer and YouTuber, god-tier actor, songwriter. Friends with (Y/N).</p><p><em>[Tubbo_]:</em> Sixteen-year-old Twitch streamer, very friendly. Friends with (Y/N), but you are slightly afraid of him (in-character...and a little bit out /j).</p><p><em>[Fundy]:</em> Twenty-one-year-old streamer and YouTuber. Coding wizard. Acquaintances with (Y/N).</p><p><em>[Eret]: </em>Twenty-one-year-old streamer. Deep voice, good vibes. Acquaintances with (Y/N), Casey's idol.</p><p>George: <em>[GeorgeNotFound] </em>Twenty-four-year-old YouTuber and streamer. Vague acquaintances with (Y/N), haven't talked much.</p><p><em>[Sapnap]: </em>Nineteen-year-old YouTuber and streamer. Vague acquaintances with (Y/N), again, haven't talked much.</p><p> </p><p><b><span class="u">KNOWN MINOR(?) CHARACTERS</span></b>:</p><p><em>[reedsherbible]:</em> Dedicated Skelpie fan, seems to be one of the first people to reply to any tweets or comments you make. No other information known.</p><p><em>[staedtler]:</em> One of Skelpie's Twitch mods. No other information known.</p><p>???: Unnamed past boyfriend of (Y/N). Seemed to be incredibly possessive and possibly verbally abusive. Apparently in jail. No other information known.</p><p>Alex: <em>[Quackity]</em> Apparently used to be close (online) friends with (Y/N), but grew slightly distant over time. Streamer.</p><p>.•☆•.</p><p>(A/N: This is the first Dream Team fanfiction I've written, and it's kind of the first Reader Insert I've published. I think. There might be some cringy Undertale fanfiction from 2017 on my Wattpad, but I'm too scared to look.</p><p>If I'm doing something wrong, feel free to tell me!! Please, I need to know.</p><p>This has a plot, but it isn't super detailed as of right now -- I know what I want to happen, but how to get there is an entirely different story. So there will probably be a lot of filler chapters in the middle, sorry!!</p><p>Any applicable CWs or TWs will be at the top of each chapter, and swearing will be at an absolute minimum. If you would like me to add a CW or a TW, then just comment or DM me!! I will 100% oblige, don't worry. Also, there will not be any lemons or whatever in this, this is completely platonic all around! The only ship that <em>might</em> make an appearance is NikiSoot, hehe. (<strong>UPDATE 12/6/20:</strong> I have decided against it!! I'd rather not make anyone uncomfortable, and my understanding of the Wilbur/Niki situation with shipping is iffy. I don't know Niki's stance on shipping in general, so I'll keep it out! It has been removed from the tags.)(<strong>UPDATE 12/8/20: </strong>I forgot to remove it from the tags, NOW it's removed from the tags.)</p><p>Comments &gt; kudos, but kudos are still very much appreciated. :)</p><p>I don't have an updating schedule, but rest assured that I love writing these and showing them to you all!! So as soon as I finish a chapter, it'll be out! :D</p><p>EDIT: My Wattpad now has the same username!! So if you mobile readers wanna go to Wattpad to read it, I'm Enderwoah on there, too! Please bring the AO3 energy onto Wattpad.</p><p>Enjoy the story!!)</p><p>.•☆•.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Beginnings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Meeting the first member of the gang.</p><p>TW/CW: N/A.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>My chat is never going to let me live this down. And honestly? I don’t blame them.</p><p>I groan loudly as I get knocked out of the sky for the umpteenth time in Bedwars -- a game that I explicitly made clear to me viewers that I am God-awful at...which only seemed to make them request it even more. I roll my eyes pointedly and scoff in disgust, leaving the game and sitting in the lobby.</p><p>“Chat, I <em>told you</em> I suck at this -- why can’t you let me play a game that I’m good at? Do you all enjoy watching me suffer that much?”</p><p>Before long, chat is filled with green “YEA”s. I shake my head in slight disbelief, chuckling. “Okay, well, <em>first of all</em> , I barely every play this game, so it isn’t my fault that I’m…” I pause to find the right word. “ <em>Inexperienced</em> . And second, it isn’t my fault that the best Minecraft players in the world decided that they’d play right now, okay. Actually --” I smile and pull out me phone, opening the Twitch app before nodding sagely. “Yep, it’s just as I thought. Dream, Wilbur, and Tommy just so happen to be streaming right now. The energy is unbalanced, it’s throwing me off my game -- chat, I am <em>not</em> a simp!!”</p><p>I exit Minecraft to start to end my stream and read out the last few donos that I didn’t catch while playing. I tilt my head to the side once I’m finished and ask chat, “Should I raid someone? Who should I...none of my friends are streaming right now.”</p><p>I squint at chat for an answer and scoff. “Yeah, I know it’s because it’s like midnight for my only streamer friend, I don’t care -- now give me an answer!!” The chat starts to fill up with the names of different streamers, some that I don’t even recognize, but one name was overwhelming…</p><p>“Chat, I’m not going to raid <em>Dream</em>, that’d be so weird -- isn’t there a limit when it comes to these things?” I turn a little pink, trying to look indignant but really just looking embarrassed. “The guy’s already at like, 100k. No -- guys, pick someone else. Tommy? Fine, Tommy.”</p><p>In a few moments, most of my viewers have been booted onto Tommy’s stream, who generally looks confused before his chat starts filling up.</p><p><em>whatpumpkin413: skelpie raid!!<br/></em> <em>callmecarpaltunnel: skelpie raaaaiiddddd<br/></em> <em>julianya: omg tommy do you even know who this is</em></p><p>I watch Tommy’s stream for a moment as the confusion partially lifts from the young boy’s face. “I don’t...know who this is, but thank you for the raid of...14k, Jesus Christ!” He dissolves into his trademark cackle, and I can’t help but smile.</p><p><em>skelpie: heart been broke so many times, don’t know what to believe<br/></em> <em>mavis_999: TOMMY WHY ARE YOU SO RUDE<br/></em> <em>tally_fall: skelpie shoulda raided wilbur smh<br/></em> <em>summersufferer: dw skelpie he’s always like this &gt;.&gt;</em></p><p>“Wh -- no, I’m not being <em>rude</em>, I’m just stating -- you know what, nevermind. Shut up, chat.” Tommy huffs in annoyance and you laugh. </p><p><em>skelpie: lol it’s like 12AM in bst go to bed you literal child.<br/></em> <em>skelpie: anyways have fun w/ my chat they’re even crazier than yours, im going to bed.</em></p><p>I close out Twitch and stretch, yawning slightly and rubbing my eyes. I open up Twitter and decide to send out just one tweet before crashing for the night. Yeah, it’s only seven PM, but I <em>did</em> pull an all-nighter yesterday. And I’ve been busy literally all day, so nobody can blame me for being literally exhausted.</p><p>That...probably didn’t help my performance in Bedwars. Whatever.</p><p><b>@skelpie</b>: my heart has been broken so many times, i just don’t know what to believe. :(<br/>|<br/><b>@NovaNova</b> : <b>@tommyinnit</b> what do you have to say for yourself?</p><p>“Wh -- Eliza was watching the stream…?” I mutter under my breath, slightly confused. “Why didn’t she...no, wait, she was probably watching Tommy. Wait -- she should be in bed!!”</p><p>|<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: go to bed, you literal child.<br/>|<br/><b>@NovaNova</b>: trying to defend your honor and this is the thanks i get??</p><p>I let out a short “ha” before shutting off my phone and plugging it in to charge. There isn’t a bone in my body that expects Mr. Innit to reply, so I drift off to sleep without much of a problem. Which is really just saying that I tossed and turned under the covers for another two hours before finally crashing.</p><p>Insomnia is kind of the worst.</p><p>
  <b> .•☆•.</b>
</p><p>
  <em>*tommyinnit has followed you. </em>
</p><p>I stare down at my phone in pure, unfettered, disbelief. I rub my eyes and frown -- I'm tired, right? I'm hallucinating? Perhaps I didn’t read it right?</p><p>“Maybe it’s a fake account or something…” I mutter under my breath, clicking the notification and being led straight to Tommy’s actual Twitter. My jaw practically drops onto the floor and I squeeze my phone, dancing around in a bit of a circle with a squeal before going back to the app. I can't believe...<em>TommyInnit</em> ...I’m going to have a <em>stroke</em>.</p><p><b>@NovaNova</b>: <b>@tommyinnit</b> what do you have to say for yourself?<br/>|<br/><b>@tommyinnit</b>: i don’t apologize to women.</p><p>I let out what is, quite possibly, the loudest laugh I’ve ever had.</p><p>|<br/><b>@NovaNova</b>: you’ll be apologizing to your followers once twitter dot com cancels you over that.<br/>|<br/><b>@tommyinnit</b>: NO NO I’M SORRY please don’t cancel me twitter dot com i love women<br/>|<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: don’t worry guys i think he made up for it.</p><p>I back out of the comment section of that tweet (which blew up after I fell asleep, apparently) and go to make a new one.</p><p><b>@skelpie</b>: tfw your best friend bullies a five-year-old into following you.<br/>|<br/><b>@miriadofstars</b>: it’d better not be a hollow follow i want him to start watching your streams</p><p><b>@ohohu54</b>: @tommyinnit + skelpie collab when?<br/>|<br/><b>@NovaNova</b>: i think (y/n) would delete her channel before that happens lmao<br/>|<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: &gt;:( BET.</p><p>I say that as if I believe that it’ll happen -- I don’t, of course, but I sure didn’t want to hear it come from Eliza. It stabs me right in my pride and I don’t need that feeling. I keep up with this banter for another few minutes before entering my office to edit a video from a while back. It’s hardly anything to edit -- just censoring things and cutting out any copyrighted music so I can post it on YouTube.</p><p>Got to keep up that monetization, right?</p><p>Several hours and uploads later, I prepare myself to start streaming at my normal time. I open up Twitter for the thousandth time today to send out a message to the people that don’t know -- especially since this newfound interaction with people more famous than me has caused quite the influx of new followers. All are welcome in the Skelpie family, of course, but hot damn was this unexpected.</p><p><b>@skelpie</b> : going live at 2pm!! catch me playing the crafts w/ <b>@novanova</b> &lt;3<br/>|<br/><b>@seiannasoot</b>: ayo skelpie what are u actually gonna do<br/>|<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: good question! you tell me.</p><p>The replies came flooding in after that one, and I let out a chuckle, and then a wince. Yeah...I genuinely have no idea what to stream. I’d really rather not embarrass myself on Bedwars again, especially not with Eliza -- she’d absolutely ruin me in that one. I scroll through the silly suggestions my followers give, and the more realistic ones, too, replying to the ones I deemed worthy.</p><p><b>@seiannasoot</b>: bedwars again?? that was fun to watch yesterday 😈<br/>|<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: silence, emoji-user.</p><p><b>@reedsherbible</b>: fnaf pog fnaf pog fnaf pog<br/>|<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: bold of you to assume that would be good content, i know everything about it and don’t get scared anymore &gt;:)<br/>|<br/><b>@_The_Narrator_</b>: We’ll hold you to it when it happens, then.</p><p><b>@scharpee</b>: sing something on stream! &lt;3<br/>|<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: absolutely not. &lt;3<br/>|<br/><b>@reedsherbible</b>: lmao u know how she feels abt singing i dont think itll happen anytime soon</p><p>I hum quietly as I scroll before my eyes land on one specific tweet from one specific person. And I think my heart stopped for the eighth time in the last 24 hours.</p><p><b>@tommyinnit</b>: i believe i may be of some assistance.<br/>|<br/><b>@reedsherbible</b>: TOMMYINNIT COLLAB POG???<br/>|<br/><b>@firellama</b> : pogCHAMP do it <b>@skelpie @skelpie</b> i s2g don’t mess up this golden opportunity<br/>|<br/><b>@serialcereal</b>: Don’t pressure her, she’ll do it if she wants (please do it)</p><p>I blink hard a few times, considering my options here. I could, hypothetically, reject the offer.  This would lead to my fans hating me, and if they don’t, they think I’m a wuss. I would have a pointless, boring stream. And I would lose so much of my clout. On the other hand, I could accept, and risk extreme embarrassment from someone that I look up to and admire greatly (even though he’s a year and some change younger than me) and maybe ruin my social life forever and never be able to show my face online again. Or I could have one of the greatest streams of my life because I’m talking to <em>Tommy-freakin’-Innit.</em></p><p>I’m still a bit on the fence after much debilitating, but there’s one last thing to consider…</p><p>The <em>clout</em>.</p><p><b>@skelpie</b>: bet. im in.<br/>|<br/><b>@tommyinnit</b>: dm me, woman.<br/>|<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: D:</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>The stream starts without much of a hitch, and I switch my camera on with a huge grin. My chat welcomes me to the stream, and I wave. “Hello everyone!! So, I decided what we’re gonna do today…” I do a little drumroll on my desk before smiling into the camera with jazz hands. “We’re not doing <em>jack.</em>”</p><p>I hear two laughs come from the other people in the Discord call with me, and I shush them. “What I mean is, I’ll probably just jump around from thing to thing today. Chat, the stream is in your hands -- I’ve officially run out of content. We’ll start on Bedwars, probably, just so you can watch one of my friends completely destroy me. I know you guys <em>love</em> watching that.” I roll my eyes exasperatedly.</p><p><em>staedtler: you really should stop saying you’re awful at it, you’re really not that bad<br/></em> <em>zerowater: it’s really funny seeing you baby-rage :LUL:<br/></em> <em>WheelOfKarma: :YEA:</em></p><p>“And on that note, I’d like to introduce one of our guests for the day, who you all know already because she’s in half of my streams -- it’s NovaNova!!”</p><p>“‘Suuup, chat?” Eliza pipes up, sounding just as chill as she always does. “(Y/N), I told you to introduce me as Eliza when you’re streaming, you’re just advertising my Twitch when you call me that.”</p><p>I roll my eyes and shrug. “Well, maybe I want --”</p><p>“Great!”</p><p>“Wait, no --”</p><p>Eliza had already started, though. “Make sure you all head over to twitch.tv/novanova, that’s twitch.tv/novanova, N-O-V-A-N-O-V-A, drop a follow, maybe a sub, who even knows --”</p><p>I cut her off with a loud laugh, and we dissolve into a fit giggles.</p><p>“You know, it’s pretty rude to not introduce your special guest, especially since I’m, you know, <em>special</em>.”</p><p>As soon as the ‘special guest’ starts to talk, the chat starts flying past my eyes, whirring so fast that I can barely catch anything being said. I look into the camera and pout. “You weren’t s’possed to say anything until I introduced you, I can’t believe you.”</p><p>The ‘special guest’ lets out a huff. “Yes, well, I was getting impatient, since it’s been a full two minutes and people didn’t even know that I’m here, so I decided that it was time for me to get <em>my</em> funny introductory bit, right?”</p><p>I laugh before nodding sagely. “Yes...impatient. Like a child would be.”</p><p>“I’m <em>not</em> a --!”</p><p>I clap my hands together and speak loudly, saying, “OKAY, well, in case you live under a rock and don’t recognize that voice, or perhaps you don’t follow my Twitter, Skelpie on there just like on here, that's S-K-E-L-P-I-E --”</p><p>“I swear to God --”</p><p>“-- this is our other special guest, for one day only!” I spread out my arms and wave them around slightly. “It’s TommyInnit!! Aaand the chat goes <em>wild.</em>”</p><p>“‘For one day only?’ What, are you planning to boot me off your streams after today?”</p><p>My eyes widen and I start to wave my hands in front of me, shaking my head. “Nonono, that’s not what I meant at all!”</p><p>“Are you expecting me to do just that badly? This is what I get for agreeing to stream with a woman, innit?”</p><p>“No!! That’s not what I --”</p><p>“<em>Two</em> women, in fact.”</p><p>This short banter goes on for a moment longer before Eliza’s voice pipes up to say, “Tommy, I think you’re forgetting two crucial facts here.”</p><p>I can practically hear the sneer in Tommy’s voice as he responds, “Oh yeah? Tell me -- <em>enlighten</em> me, NovaNova Minecraft.”</p><p>
  <em>dramallama472: i didnt know tommy knew as big of a word as ‘enlighten’ </em>
</p><p>My short glance at the chat makes me need to mute myself out of fear of interrupting the intense standoff between Eliza and Tommy that’s going on. On-camera, though, I’m very visibly losing my mind as I read it aloud.</p><p>“One, you were the one that offered to stream with (Y/N), and two, you seem to keep forgetting that she has a very active fanbase on Twitter dot com.”</p><p>Tommy scoffs. “You’ve already used that threat, NovaNova Minecraft. I’m not scared of you.”</p><p>I can just <em>imagine</em> Eliza cocking her head to the side, raised eyebrows. “You should be scared of the eleven thousand people with Twitter accounts watching, though.” I can hear the smile in her voice as she continues, now directing her words to chat. “Hey, (Y/N)’s chat, how many people tweeting with the hashtag, ‘tommyinnithateswomen’ do you think we’ll need to get it trending?”</p><p>Tommy’s slightly over-confident demeanor dissolves into a spluttering mess as he yells at chat in between nervous laughter to <em>not</em> cancel him on Twitter. Meanwhile, I’m being sent through the <em>stratosphere</em> with laughter.</p><p>“P-Please don’t cancel Mister Innit, chat, he’s only been here for like, ten minutes.”</p><p>“Yes chat, please don’t cancel Mister Innit.” Tommy says, erratic and hyper. “My name is TommyInnit, first name Tommy, last name Innit, and I love women. I love my mother, and God save the queen.”</p><p>The rest of the stream goes on with banter like that. We just talk for the most part, and Tommy bullies me for being awful at Bedwars. Which is honestly unfair, because if he was playing against Eliza, he’d seem just as bad. Eliza and I went onto our streamer friend’s SMP and continued to build up the house that we shared, making it look...fairly decent.</p><p>Eventually, we were just taking questions from chat, doing requests, things like that.</p><p>
  <em>staedtler: how did this happen? </em>
</p><p>“Very specific question there, mod.” I chuckle, tapping my chin. “Well, you see...a long time ago, actually never, and also now -- nothing is nowhere. When? Never. Makes sense, right?”</p><p>Eliza is dying in the background, and there’s nothing but a confused silence on Tommy’s end.</p><p>“Is -- what in the world was that? Is this an American thing or are you and your chat just weird?”</p><p>I ignore Tommy and glance over chat, which is still moving incredibly fast.</p><p>
  <em>reedsherbible: did you actually memorize the entire beginning of history of the entire world? </em>
</p><p>“History of the Entire World, <em>I Guess</em>.” I correct, pointing slightly to the side with a nod. “Can’t forget that part. And no, I didn’t memorize the entire beginning, I memorized the entire video.”</p><p>“It’s true, she’s recited it.”</p><p>“What the hell <em>is</em> that?!” Tommy yells, and I giggle. Aw...baby rage.</p><p>“It’s a video that explains the history of the entire world, I guess.” Eliza says sarcastically. “Damn Tommy, you’re a little slow on the uptake, aren’t you?”</p><p>“Don’t insult my intelligence like that, NovaNova Minecraft,” Tommy says indignantly. “I’m just curious as to what your chat is -- now they’re telling us to watch it. I want to watch it. Show me the video, Skelpie.”</p><p>I tap my chin, moving into another window to pull up the video off-stream. “What’s the magic word, Tomathy?”</p><p>“----.”</p><p>I let out an overly-dramatic gasp. “Tomathy! Language!”</p><p>Tommy groans. “I already hear enough of that ‘language’ crap from Bad, not you too.”</p><p>Eliza laughs, saying, “Nah, you heard me curse a bunch earlier. She doesn’t actually care, kid, it’s a bit.”</p><p>“Wh -- what do you mean <em>kid?</em> ” Tommy splutters. I roll my eyes and lean on my hand. She’s activated Tommy’s defence mode. “How old even <em>are</em> you, NovaNova Minecraft, huh? I bet you’re ancient, I bet you’re even older than <em>Wilbur</em>.”</p><p>“Woah there, tiger.” I say, deadpan. “No need to be so hostile.”</p><p>“Shut up, woman.” Tommy says pointedly, and I raise an eyebrow. He’s really dead-set on getting himself cancelled, isn’t he? Well, as long as it isn’t my viewers doing it...kidding, kidding. I like him. It’d suck if people didn’t realize that it’s a bit.</p><p>A really long, months-old bit.</p><p>“So, NovaNova Minecraft? Too scared to talk? Are -- are you quaking in your boots right now? Don’t lie, I can hear it. You’re terrified. You’re --”</p><p>“I’m seventeen and six-foot three, which is apparently 1.9 metres in the not-American places? Sorry, I was looking it up.” I can literally hear the cloying smile in Eliza’s voice. “What were you saying?”</p><p>Dead silence on Tommy’s end. I force down a laugh as it stretches on for a solid ten seconds before he finally pipes up and says, “LEt’s watch the video now, shall we?”</p><p>Eliza and I lose our minds at the voice crack and the abrupt change of topic, and Tommy joins in after a few moments. A thought comes to my mind, and suddenly, my lafter dies abruptly and my face turns solemn. “Eliza, do you know what you’ve done by revealing that information?”</p><p>The giggle still hasn’t left her voice as she asks, “No...what did I do?”</p><p>I shake my head, looking pensive. “Clearly, you do not know the mindset of people in Twitch chats. The mindset of the MCYT fans -- you are uninformed. See --” I gesture towards nothing in particular. “Take a look at the chat right now.”</p><p><em>staedlter: now you’ve gone and done it.<br/></em> <em>ickivikki101: novainnit??<br/></em> <em>skelpiefan_999: OMG I SHIP NOVA AND TOMMY<br/></em> <em>w0ww33: y’aLL THEY JUST MET EACHOTHER WHAT<br/></em> <em>reedsherbible: novainnit<br/></em> <em>FileExplorer427: NovaInnit pog their dynamic is already amazing<br/></em> <em>41361209pog: nobody cares if you ship them but don’t be weird about it :&lt;3:</em></p><p>Eliza goes silent after a bit, and Tommy starts to crack up. I also laugh, saying, “N-Nova? You okay…?”</p><p>“Nova, you clearly aren’t familiar with how stans work,” Tommy says through wheezes. “I’m 6’3”, you’re 6’3”, we’re the same age, I mean, come on, even <em>I</em> saw that coming.”</p><p>“Shut up, shut up, nope, stop, cease, quiet yourself, child, we’re watching the video right now.” Eliza says, cutting everyone off. “(Y/N), pull up the video.”</p><p>“What’s the magic w--”</p><p>“<em>(Y/N), pull up the video.</em>”</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>Stream ended on just as much of a high note as it started. I got up to <em>22k viewers</em> , which sent me flying the moment I noticed -- I said that I would collab with Tommy for the clout, and the clout I <em>got</em> . Of course, that wasn’t the only reason...Tommy <em>is</em> a very cool person, both on-camera and off. It was the opportunity of a <em>lifetime</em> to talk with him, and I’m so glad that I accepted his offer.</p><p>I open up Twitter.</p><p><b>@skelpie</b> : just had what is quite possible the coolest stream ever with <b>@NovaNova</b> and <b>@tommyinnit</b>.<br/>|<br/><b>@tommyinnit</b>: and since it was ‘one day only,’ im never coming back<br/>|<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: nooo tommy my clout no come back please<br/>|<br/><b>@reedsherbible</b>: TOMMY ❗❗TOMMY ❗❗ Hello 😀👋 do your shoes need shining? 🤔👟✨ Tommy 😳❗❗ Tommy please 🥺🙁🙏Do you need coffee? 👀☕ Come back 😫 PLEASE my clout 😤🤑 Dont go away from me 🥺 Tommy please 😍<br/>|<br/><strong>@skelpie</strong>: how dare you.</p><p><b>@NovaNova</b>: i have been SLANDERED on stream i am also never coming back<br/>|<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: it isn’t our fault that you don’t understand how the shipper goggles work <em>#novainnitt</em><br/>|<br/><b>@NovaNova</b>: (Y/N) I SWEAR TO GOD</p><p>Of course, Tommy and Eliza are joking. They both come back for future streams, all across the couple of weeks that pass after these first two days. Sometimes it’s just Nova, sometimes it’s just Tommy, and sometimes I just show up in a call on either of their streams. It’s fun, and it’s basicall a brand-new friendship.</p><p>All because my chat yelled at me to raid someone I didn’t know….maybe I should do that more often.</p><p>Turns out, I don’t need to. It’s the mmiddle of the day, and nothing in particular is going on. I’m just watching Tommy stream on the DreamSMP, which he was recently added to. It’s really funny, really, the entire SMP is running smoothly, even with the new people being added left and right. I glance down at my phone to check my notifications...and my jaw drops.</p><p>
  <em>*257 new notifications from Twitter! </em>
</p><p>All of them are fairly new, and I unlock my phone to see what the problem is...and they all seem to be of people tagging me in the same tweet. I navigate to the original message and my heart ceases function for a good five seconds.</p><p><b>@dreamwastaken2</b>: i go to check out this girl tommy won’t shut up about and the first stream i watch she said she doesn’t want to raid me. heart been broke so many times…<br/>|<br/><b>@theneverguys</b>: <b>@skelpie<br/></b>|<br/><b>@reedsherbible</b>: <b>@skelpie<br/></b>|<br/><b>@diamondsnspades</b>: <b>@skelpie<br/></b>|<br/><b>@presidentofyes12</b>: <b>@skelpie<br/></b>|<br/>...<br/>|<b><br/>@NovaNova</b>: <b>@skelpie<br/></b> |<br/><b>@skelpie</b>: oh, crap.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Crewmate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You're invited to something special, and you play a game with some friends.</p>
<p>You're a little overdramatic.</p>
<p>CW and TW: Death, descriptions of death, being sucked into the void of space, low-key gaslighting. Nobody actually dies, it's just a really extra narration, but I felt as if I should put this here.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p>
<p><em> *dreamwastaken and dreamwastaken2 have followed you.<br/>
</em> <em> *one (1) unopened DM from dreamwastaken. </em></p>
<p>I just wanted to check my Instagram notifications. That’s all. And yet here I am, having something akin to a heart attack because Dream, Minecraft speedrunner Dream, the Dream that everyone wanted you to raid, 150k viewers on Twitch Dream, <em> that Dream </em> just followed and DM’d me.</p>
<p>I’m starting to become convinced that everything that’s happened in the past few weeks has been one prolonged fever dream.</p>
<p>Speaking of Dreams, I should probably open that DM before I look rude <em> and </em> unpopular.</p>
<p><em> Dreamwastaken: I’m hurt.<br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: noooo nono i didn’t mean anything by it really<br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: you had so many viewers already and i was super tired and i remembered that you couldn’t raid anyone if you had more than like 60k viewers and i didn’t really wanna see if it worked the other way around :(<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: Haha, I’m just messing with yo, don’t worry about it.<br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: :D<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: I actually wasn’t joking about Tommy never shutting up about you tho </em></p>
<p>I blink twice. Huh?</p>
<p><em> skelpie: wait really? ive never heard him talk about me a whole lot on stream if im not there,<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: Well, yeah, it’s Tommy, what did you expect<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: He’d probably cry if his viewers found out that he was so close with a ✨woman✨ </em></p>
<p>I smile, holding my face in by hands and it turns a furious shade of red. I’m going to beat the muffin out of him, I swear...he talks about me off-stream? What does he say? Good things? Or does he tell the DreamSMP about how much of a weirdo I am...great, now my mind will never rest. There’s no way I could just...<em> ask </em> about it. What, do I look like I’m crazy?</p>
<p><em> skelpie: haha, you’re probably right<br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: i hope he isn’t just slandering me behind my back &gt;.&gt;<br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: tho i wouldn’t put it past him<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: Me neither, but he actually says a lot of good stuff abt you </em></p>
<p>“He...<em> what? </em> ” I let the words of disbelief fall from my mouth, not particularly caring if I looked weird. Not as if there was anyone around to see me. <em> TommyInnit </em> says good things about me. Genuinely. This has to be a joke. I glance around my room. Where the hell are the hidden cameras?</p>
<p><em> skelpie: wait fr?<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: Why do you sound so surprised 😂<br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: same reasons you said -- i can’t believe tommyinnit said good things about a ✨woman✨<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: Yeah you’re right<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: Well I mean it isn’t uncalled for<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: I watched a bunch of your streams, you actually seem really cool<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: Tommy keeps bugging me to add you + Nova to the SMP (and also trying to insist that it’s for the content and nothing else lol)<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: You want in? </em></p>
<p>I blink. Once. Twice. I calmly place my phone facedown on my desk, rise from my seat...and propel myself onto my bed with the force of a rocket, grabbing a pillow and screaming into it. I probably would look like I was having a seizure to anyone watching...if anyone was watching. I jump from my bed and run to the door of my bedroom, flinging it open and grabbing onto the sides and letting my body lean out of the frame.</p>
<p>“MOOOOM!!!” I screech, probably scaring everyone in the house -- but I genuinely don’t care. “I JUST GOT INVITED TO JOIN THE POPULAR-EST MINECRAFT SERVER LIKE, ON THE PLANET!!”</p>
<p>“Good job, honey!” I hear her yell from probably the kitchen. At the same time, my younger brother yells out, “YOU GOT INVITED TO DREAM’S SMP?!”</p>
<p>“YEEEEAH!!”</p>
<p>“OH MY GOD, WAIT, DON’T MOve, I’m coming up, I’m coming up!” I back out of the door to let my little brother by a couple of years, Casey, come in the room. He looks just as excited as I do, and his hands are flying everywhere -- happy stim!! Awhe.</p>
<p>“Wait, are you for real for real? Did you actually get asked to join?!” He questions, and I don’t think I’m capable of forming words, so I just nod and run over to grab my phone before running back and thrusting the device in his face. His eyes scan the text in a matter of seconds, and he lets out a squeal that rivals even my own.</p>
<p>A few moments pass, and we’re both just dancing around in my bedroom out of pure, unfettered joy</p>
<p>I love having a sibling that likes the stuff I like.</p>
<p>“Wait, you need to respond!” He says suddenly, and I curse under my breath. Three minutes have already been wasted, I probably look like a weirdo.</p>
<p><em> skelpie: sorry, family duties :P<br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: of course im in! sounds like a awesomely fun time :D<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: Sick, I’ll get you whitelisted asap<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: + Nova said yes too so I'll get that done
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: In the meantime, I’m about to play Among Us with uhh<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: George, Sap, uhh Tommy, Wilbur, Fundy, Tubbo, and Eret.<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: you and Nova wanna play? </em></p>
<p>“Oh my God, oh my God, this isn’t even happening to me and my brain is about to explode, <em> you are talking to Dreamwastaken (Y/N) are you processing this? </em>” Casey shakes my shoulders back and forth, and I shake my head.</p>
<p>“If I do process it, I’ll lose my mind and I don’t think I should do that mid-conversation again.’</p>
<p>Casey nods solemnly, and I look back at my phone.</p>
<p><em> skelpie: omg yes ofc ill message her rn and we can stream<br/>
</em> <em> Dreamwastaken: hell yeah. </em></p>
<p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p>
<p>I’m in an Among Us lobby with my biggest streamer idols. Just another Wednesday, of course.</p>
<p>“I should warn you, Nova is even worse at lying than Tommy is, and that’s like, an ungodly amount of horribleness.” I say in a warning tone, eliciting laughs and Tommy’s indignant splutters.</p>
<p>“I can’t even deny it, you’d see through that, too,” Nova pipes up. “And (Y/N) is really good at acting and crap, it’s kind of weird, she’s scarily good at this game.”</p>
<p>“Okay, remember to vote the newbie out <em> immediately </em>,” Wilbur says in a serious tone, and I laugh. “We don’t need another person to prove how small-brain we all are except for Dream.”</p>
<p>I laugh sweetly, cloyingly, almost. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”</p>
<p>“Famous last words.”</p>
<p>Dream starts the game, as he was the one organizing it, and I cross my fingers, <em> praying </em> to get Impostor...</p>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <em> CREWMATE. </em> </span>
</p>
<p>I snap my fingers and curse under my breath. Rats. I wanted to be a show-off. Nova wasn’t lying -- I am really good at the game. Not specifically because I’m good at lying, I’m just good at acting in general. It’s one of my natural talents, I suppose.</p>
<p>As we are playing on The Skeld, which, in my opinion, is only the second-best map. Polus is the greatest, and MiraHQ is the worst.</p>
<p>Nobody likes MiraHQ.</p>
<p>
  <em> I already know that Dream is going to be preempting lights in anticipation, since that’s what he usually does, so I run around the area and stay decently behind a pair -- George and Fundy, walking right to navigation. I keep them at the edge of my vision, far enough away that I probably wouldn’t notice either of them if I wasn’t specifically paying attention. </em>
</p>
<p><em> Of course, I’m paying attention. I’m </em> always <em> paying attention. </em></p>
<p>
  <em> The lights go out… </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I find myself squinting through the sudden darkness, running down towards shields and letting the sound of Fundy and George’s footsteps fade into the background, keeping my eyes trained on the wall at the end of the hallway so as to not draw suspicion. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> The lights go back on a few seconds later. I pound the buttons to readjust the ship’s shields before sprinting back up to where I left the pair in the darkness, making sure that they’re both either still doing tasks or they’ve left the area. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> What I find is a sickening display. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> George, assumed so because of his trademark blue suit, lays on the ground, his helmet cracked in the back. I stand over his body and glare into the crack, wincing at the sight of his hair stained by red. The glass of his visor is scattered all over the floor, and there’s another wound in his back, the blue of his outfit turning a deep, bloody purple. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I sigh, shaking my head to block out the tears welling up in my eyes, pulling out the megaphone to report the body. The technology in our suits is designed to sync with the megaphone, and we all are warped to the middle table in the cafeteria. I pull off my helmet, (shaking my hair out of the back of the suit/running my hand through my hair), watching everyone else do the same. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Dream’s eyes seem to widen once it clicks who’s missing from the table, and my eyes flick to the side. Sapnap gasps, raising his hand to his heart. </em>
</p>
<p>I roll my eyes, looking into the camera. Dramatic losers.</p>
<p>
  <em> They all look at me expectantly, and I take a deep breath. “I found George’s body next to the leaves next to o2. After the lights came back on. Which --” I turn to Dream, tilting my head. “I’m guessing it was solved so quickly due to you pre-empting?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Dream nods with a small smile. “Yeah, I always do that, to catch --” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Catch the imposter in the act, yeah.” I finish the sentence with him, and he grins at me, which I return. It’s slightly unsettling, seeing as how the mask covers most of his face, but it’s a smile nonetheless. “Well, I didn’t manage to do that, but I got the next best thing. I followed Fundy and George out of the edge of my vision to the right right as the round started, and left them both in the upper o2 room. When I came back, Fundy was gone and George was dead.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Eyes whip to Fundy, who exclaimed defiantly. “Wh -- no! I didn’t kill him! The lights were off and I did leaves and left and went back up to do the, uh, first trash thing in upper cafeteria!” The ears on the top of Fundy’s head flatten to the side, and he scowls. “Plus, the lights didn’t even go off fast enough for that to be valid -- someone could have vented from Nav, killed him, and vented out!” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “He’s...right, actually.” Tubbo says. Everyone turns to him, confused noises emerging from the group. “The lights didn’t immediately go back on, it took an entire, like, fifteen seconds. Dream…?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Dream stiffens before tilting his head to the side, acknowledging the statement. “There was someone there, actually, who was flipping the switches to try and stop me -- it was really annoying, but I couldn’t see who it was in the darkness.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “They just left before the lights went back on?” Wilbur questions. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Well, yeah, we were the only people there, it would have been obvious who it was if I literally saw them flipping the wrong switches.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> The group nods in agreement, and I shrug. “Well, sus on Fundy for now. Was anyone else acting weird or was everyone blinded by the lights…?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Silence. I sigh in unison with Dream, and I shrug. “Alright, well. Skip voting for now, I suppose. I hope we’ll avenge George’s death...eventually.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> We part our ways, and I head over to navigation, smiling at Tubbo from behind my visor as we both chart the ship’s course. It’s not as if he could see it, of course, as the visors are reflective, but his head-tilt to the side makes it seem as if he understood. Maybe he’s even smiling back. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I run downwards and left into storage, filling up the canister to deliver fuel up to the area above reactor. I speedwalk slightly faster past electrical -- those tasks can wait. That room is a death-trap. Stupid vent-cleaning, back-stabbing, taskless impostors. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I refuel the engine, rushing back down to storage to refill the canister again, meeting up with Wilbur. I giggle slightly at how silly his outfit looks, with the goggles and lab coat over the helmet and suit. I help him pour the fuel into his canister, and we walk up to the refill area. He starts to go back, and I don’t follow. Wilbur turns around to look at me, tilting his head, and I make a series of hand gestures -- they should really install a radio of some sorts in between crewmates, we can’t hear a thing through these helmets. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I gesture at the refill section, make a two with my fingers, and point at myself. I point at Wilbur, hold up a one, point into the hallway towards storage, and make a ‘come back,’ gesture. “I’ve already done both refills -- you go do your second one and come back.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Wilbur stands there for a moment before nodding. He disappears down the hallway, and I lean on the wall, waiting. Several seconds pass, and I furrow my brow. It really shouldn’t take that long...maybe he’s having trouble carrying it? Or...maybe he just spilled it. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> The longer I wait, the bigger the anxious knot in my chest grows. In a few moments, I spring up from the wall, dashing through the hallway with my eyes squeezed shut, shaking my head. Maybe he forgot, or maybe he’s just having trouble, maybe he spilled it everywhere and he keeps dropping it and he’s making a mess like Wilbur usually would… </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> My chest is heaving as I enter the storage room, my eyes flying open only to be greeted with Wilbur’s dead body. The helmet is off to the side, and I can clearly see his head, twisted to an odd, unnatural position, his face looking strangled and stricken with horror and pain. His face is pale, and I can see his white freckles almost glow in the dim lighting of the room, the color made unorthodox due to being on a ship for most of his life. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I shake my head in disbelief, staring at the body as I take a few steps backwards...and I see another color on the ground out of the corner of my eye. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Next to the boxes, strewn far away from its owner, is a small yellow crown. I take a few steps forwards, fearful of what I would discover on the other side of the large crates (I can see the yellow I can see the red and the yellow and the red and the yellow and the). The megaphone attached to my suit vibrates, telling me to report the body, but I have to see. I have to make sure… </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I don’t make it to Tubbo’s body before another color flies into my vision. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Dream, from down the hallway coming from shields, runs into the room with his megaphone already out. He sees me, and we make something akin to eye contact before we’re both warped out of the storage room. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I almost lose my balance, being teleported, but I stable myself by putting my hands on the table, coughing and trembling through my tears. I can see people taking their helmets off out of the corner of my vision, but I can’t hear anything they’re saying. It’s all muffled, but is that because of the suit, or is it because of the fear pressing down against me, making me almost unable to breathe? I can’t say anything, the only sound I make are the choked sobs coming from my very core. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I can only see Wilbur’s horror filled expression, and the paleness of his face. The way his freckles almost seemed to dim as every last bit of life was sucked out of him. </em>
</p>
<p>“Ah, shoot, sorry chat, lemme undeafen. That dono was hilarious.” I click the headphones and the microphones and lean on my hand. “Sorry, I couldn’t hear -- really quick, what’d I miss?”</p>
<p>“Dream said that he found Tubbo’s body in storage and you were there, is all.” Tommy says, and I nod.</p>
<p>“Alright, got it.”</p>
<p>
  <em> I pull my helmet off and shake my head, wiping the wetness off my face with the back of my gloves. “It wasn’t just Tubbo. Wilbur’s body was on the other side of the crates.” </em>
</p>
<p><em> Tommy tilts his head to the side and laughs, and my head snaps towards him with a disgusted look on my face. “Whoever killed Wilbur -- </em> thank you<em>, and whoever killed Tubbo, well. You ------ up.” </em></p>
<p>
  <em> I nod slightly and turn to Dream, who starts to speak up. “Well, I don’t think it was Skelpie. She was coming from the electrical hallway and then came into storage from there, and even though she was kind of standing over the body, I think she was just...y’know, freaked out. Or surprised, or whatever.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I nod again, frowning slightly. I run his words through my head over and over, making a face before shrugging. “Okay, well, I have an idea. Where was everybody, just now?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “I was in admin with Eret!” Tommy immediately pipes up. “We were both in there, alone, but Eret did come in after me.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I narrow my eyes. “How long after?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Uhm…” Tommy’s eyes flick away, and he tilts his head from side to side. “Like, a minute and a half or so? Something like that?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I sigh. “Alright. I just...I had just seen Wilbur. About a minute before I found him dead, I was…” I shake my head. No need for details. “What about the rest of you?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “I just came from shields to find Tubbo.” Dream. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “I was doing weapons -- no, I did that earlier, I was iiin Medbay, I think. Doing the thing where you put the colors in the tubes and wait for a while.” Sapnap. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “I was in weapons!” Fundy. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Wait, you were what?” Eliza. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Heads turn to look at my friend, donned in purple. “I was just in navigation, I just left, and I didn’t see you there.” She points a finger accusingly at him. “And don’t you dare say that you had just walked in, I came all the way from the bottom and didn’t see you anywhere, in o2 or navigation or anything.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Fundy bears his teeth defensively, ears flattening yet again before making a disbelieving face. “Wh -- I could have just been behind you or something, what are you talking about?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Eliza crosses her arms. “That’s too convenient. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “And combined with the suspicious timing of George’s death from last round…” Eret begins. “I’m pretty sure it’s Fundy.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Yeah, me too.” I say, tapping the side of my head. “Everyone else’s alibis and placements hold up, but you could have easily run from storage to shields and vented from there to weapons.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Dream nods and snaps -- or at least, he tries to. It’s a little hard because of the suits, but the effort is there. “That makes sense -- Fundy? Got anything to say?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Fundy scoffs, eyes nervously darting around the room, saying, “Yeah, of course I have something to, um, say -- this was totally a double-kill! Skelpie said that she had just seen Wilbur there, right! So, there’s no way that that was the same person just killing twice! Wh-why are you just harping on me, who else here is suspicious?!” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Tommy rolls his eyes pointedly and raises his arms slightly. "That's the point, we don't know who else this could be, so we're going for the obvious option -- you." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "We also wanna see who sticks up for you, since we've all already basically decided that it's you." Nova laughs bitterly. "Seems like your impostor buddy has already given up on you, though." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Dream laughs right along with her. “Yeah, I know it’s seven, but I think we’re all pretty sure. Skip if you want, but sus on you if you do.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I pull out my voting device, scrolling until I find Fundy's name. Even though I know that this is all a training simulation and that he'll come right back later on, along with all of the other dead people, do I really want to vote out my friend? Do I really want to watch him get mercilessly thrown into the void of space? What if I'm wrong? What if we're about to throw out an innocent? The bodies of all my other friends have burned themselves into my brain, sure to give me nightmares later on, simulation or not. Do I really want to do this? </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I feel my hand start to shake yet again, and I take a deep breath. I have to be confident. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I look up and see Fundy's terrified eyes darting around the room, from person to person. Terror...mixed with something else. Something simmering underneath the surface. Something...unsettling. I press vote, and the projection screen shows up above the table. </em>
</p>
<p><em> FUNDY:<br/>
</em> <em> |||||| </em></p>
<p><em> SKELPIE:<br/>
</em> <em> | </em></p>
<p>
  <em> Fundy lets out a strangled cry, and immediately tries to run in the opposite direction, but in a matter of moments, we're all warped to the airlock. Well, the rest of us are warped to the airlock. </em>
</p>
<p><em> Fundy is </em> inside<em>. </em></p>
<p><em> The red warning lights inside start to go off, and Fundy runs up to bang on the see through glass towards us, probably screaming bloody murder, but we can’t hear him. The lights turn a deeper, darker shade of red, and suddenly, Fundy’s screams don’t look like they’re in anger...they look more like they’re in </em> agony<em>. </em></p>
<p>
  <em> I take a step back as Fundy coughs heavily, and I see blood splattered on the window. He hunches over, falling to the ground with his ears pressed flat against his head. He holds himself, rocking slightly back and forth, and I look around at the rest of my crewmates. Dream just shakes his head, Tommy and Sapnap look on with some sort of twisted satisfaction, Eliza looks sick, and Eret doesn't seem to want to look at all. </em>
</p>
<p><em> I look back at Fundy, who has ceased movement for the most part. His head raises, and I can't tell where he's looking due to the distance, but I can feel -- literally </em> feel <em> the rage coming from him. He's staring someone down with the passion of a thousand suns. </em></p>
<p>
  <em> He...he… </em>
</p>
<p><em> I think he's looking at </em> me<em>. </em></p>
<p>
  <em> Before I know what's happening, and before anything has fully processed, I hear the doors begin to open. Fundy is painfully pulled towards the doors, and I can almost hear the impact of his body hitting them. They continue to part, and in the blink of an eye, Fundy is sucked out of the airlock. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> We all feel our devices buzz, and we pull them out. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong><em> Fundy was an Impostor.<br/>
</em> <em> 1 Impostor remains. </em></strong>
</p>
<p>"Fundy, how did you manage to get bamboozled by the newbie, Jesus Christ!" I hear Wilbur say, and we all laugh. "I thought we all agreed to kill her first, what a <em> menace</em>."</p>
<p>"Damn, that is one loud ghost over there," I retort. "You're speaking bold words for someone that was murdered in round two. Love you Tubbo." More laughs. Yes, I'm killing it, let's <em> go</em>.</p>
<p>
  <em> Several minutes pass, and I'm almost finished with my tasks. I've been sticking with Eliza and Dream, since they were the biggest helpers in getting Fundy out. I've watched them do their tasks -- or at least, I think so. It's never easy to tell with most of these things. I run into admin to do card swipe -- which is my last task. No idea why I didn't do it at the start of the round, but it doesn't really matter. I run back to where Nova is, standing next to a table in the cafeteria. Dream is there, too...I think they’re both done with they’re tasks. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I start to rush towards cams, willing to just camp there because we're all finished. The task bar is only around half-way there, though, which means that some of the ghosts aren't doing their tasks. Probably. I pass Tommy coming out of Security, and I wave to him, but he just sprints past me. I rush to check cams, fearful that he had seen a body or something, but there's nothing. I can see him sprinting past Medbay, just as fast as he was before. Weird...what could be making him so… </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> So… </em>
</p>
<p><em> "Oh...Tommy, </em> no<em>." </em></p>
<p>
  <em> I rush from cams, grabbing the arm of Eliza, who was just about to enter Security, and start to run down and around the corner, but just as we're almost in the hallway to Electrical, but suddenly, I hear the blaring alarms and the flashing red lights alerting me to reactor going off. I almost immediately see Fundy's face as he was in the airlock, reminded because of the lights, but I shake my head and run back to Reactor, Nova following. I see Dream coming in, too, and the fear growing in me almost seems to explode. Almost everyone is accounted for, I realize as I put my hand on the scanner. Dream does the top one, and as soon as the reactor is reset, I run down towards Electrical, without Nova this time. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I round the corner and enter the dark room, the muffled sounds of sparks and the zaps from the wires only barely reaching my ears. I hold the edge of the middle break in the room, pulling myself around… </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> ...and immediately curse under my breath. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Sitting slumped over right next to a vent is Eret, clad in all red, but it's clear to see that some of it is darker than the rest. There's a sharp hole going through the glass of his helmet, and I can bet that there's another one coming from the back. The top of his suit is drenched in dark red, the smell stinging my nostrils. I vaguely hear the heavy thumps of Eliza's boots growing louder and closer from behind, and I turn slightly to see her. She freezes, and I shake my head, detaching the megaphone from my side and warping everyone to the cafeteria. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I rip my helmet off and slam it onto the table, jutting a finger at Tommy, who’s hands are shaking as he takes off his helmet. “The body was in Electrical. On top of a vent.” I say, glaring at the boy. He looks at me, confused, and I say, “Don’t give me that look, Tommy, it was totally you, wasn’t it?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Wh -- what the hell?” He says, putting his hands up defensively. “I wasn’t even in electrical, what the hell are you going on about?” </em>
</p>
<p><em> “Oh, please!” I throw my hands up, exasperated. I can feel the eyes of everyone else, everyone </em> alive <em> staring me down. Dream, Sapnap, Eliza...all looking confused. “I saw you darting out of the bottom of Security a bit before I found the body, and then as soon as I went to Electrical to check because I was suspicious, Reactor was called!” </em></p>
<p>
  <em> “And Tommy was basically nowhere to be found when Reactor was called...right?” Eliza says slowly, and I nod. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Well, no.” Sapnap says, tilting his head to the side. “He was with me when it was called, and I was by the right looking for a body because that’s what happens when that’s done, right?” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “Yes, right, I was looking for bodies with Sapnap, nowhere near electrical, see?” Tommy says, slightly panicked. </em>
</p>
<p><em> “Well, no, shut up, that doesn’t mean anything,” Spanap sneers. “If he was already dead, then it doesn’t matter where you were just </em> now <em> .” </em></p>
<p>
  <em> “Well, wait, where was Dream!” Tommy yells, pointing towards the green-haired crewmate. “I haven’t heard anything about --” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “I did reactor. Came from cafeteria where I was waiting, I thought Nova and Skelpie had a task to do, but I guess they went to cams instead.” He puts a finger to his chin. “I saw you run past me like someone was chasing you, but you were just running away from the vent you just came from, weren’t you?” </em>
</p>
<p><em> “Wha -- no!! I didn’t even </em> see <em> you in cafeteria, you’re lying, you weren’t in there at all, you probably went to go kill Eret, didn’t you!” </em></p>
<p>
  <em> Dream looks taken aback, looking confused and almost disappointed in Tommy. “Tommy, I literally saw you running past, you went straight to the far right side, I was standing by the wires in the top left. Come on, that isn’t even a good defense.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I nod slightly. “And who else could it have been? Sapnap was on the whole other side of the map, and I was with Eliza.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “You could have vented from Security, into Electrical, killed Eret, and vented back before Nova even got there!” </em>
</p>
<p>“I’m not stupid enough to make such a risky play, Tommy, that’s not my play style.” I roll my eyes pointedly, mouthing ‘can you believe this kid?’ at the camera. “I’m actually offended that you’d think I’d do something so stupid.”</p>
<p>“Well <em> sorry </em> I haven’t <em> analyzed your Among Us videos </em> like you’ve done with Dream over there, I’m trying to keep myself for getting kicked out when I didn’t do it!!”</p>
<p>
  <em> “I think it’s pretty obvious who it is. I know it’s five, but we did get Fundy out, so even if we got Tommy wrong, it isn’t a problem, really.” Dream says, and the rest of us nod. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “No, it’s definitely a ------- problem because I’m not the God damn impostor, I swear to God Dream, you’re all getting played --” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “I don’t know who you’re trying to pin it on, because you’ve tried to pin it on...basically everyone alive, but I know for sure that it isn’t me, and I don’t think it’s Skelpie...it might be, though. I don’t think it’s Nova, I don’t think it’s Sapnap, so it has to be you, it just makes the most sense." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "N-No, it doesn't make any sense at all, you're voting me on hypotheticals --" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "Technically, we always vote on hypotheticals, unless someone literally saw you do it." I point out, and Tommy gives me a withering look. I use my device to vote for Tommy, with a great degree of hesitance. But...we got Fundy right last round, right? And the theory has been Dream-approved...but still, something feels...wrong. </em>
</p>
<p><em> TOMMY:<br/>
</em> <em> |||| </em></p>
<p><em> DREAM:<br/>
</em> <em> | </em></p>
<p><em> "Wh -- you </em> idiots!!! <em> " Tommy screeches, but he's almost cut off by us all warping to the airlock for the second time. </em></p>
<p>
  <em> Tommy is inside of it, of course, and he immediately starts to scream, bang on the glass, punch, kick, claw at the wall, and the rest of us do nothing but watch. My breathing starts to grow faster as the red lights turn on yet again, which prompts Tommy's thrashing to become even wilder, even more unhinged. I can see him screaming the words "no, no, no," over and over again, as if it'll help in any way. The lights darken in color, and I wince, but nothing specific seems to happen. Even Tommy starts to seem confused, but only for a moment. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Then he hears the airlocks click open. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> His panicked eyes look around the room, and I look around with him -- Nova and Dream both look apprehensive, as if they were concerned, and Sapnap, as per usual, seems to not really care. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I take a step closer to the window, and then another. I can see Tommy start to mouth something again, and I lean in to see -- </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "How did...how...what?" I mutter. "How did he...oh." I cut myself off as the doors start to part and the young boy is forcefully pulled into them, his limber body painfully colliding with the metal, and I can see him wince...but even worse, I start to see him claw at his neck, and I knew we made the wrong choice. I already suspected, since the lights didn't do anything to him, but now... </em>
</p>
<p><em> Impostors don't need oxygen. And right now, there is </em> none <em> in that room because of the stupid airlock. </em></p>
<p>
  <em> I take another step closer, but someone pushes past me, rushing up to the glass and hitting it with all their might, screaming Tommy's name at the top of their lungs as if it were that last she would ever see of him. And in this simulation, it is. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I put my hand on Eliza's shoulder as she breaks down, fists against the glass with her head down as Tommy is sucked out of the ship faster than the eye can catch. We're all warped back to the cafeteria with our helmets gone, and I hold her in a hug. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong><em> Tommy was not an Impostor.<br/>
</em> <em> 1 Impostor remains. </em></strong>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Dream stands to the side, almost looking ashamed, and Sapnap leaves to go finish the probable mountain of tasks he has remaining. We stay like that for a few moments, and Dream leaves, probably feeling intrusive. A few minutes later, the lights go out. I grab Eliza's hand and look at her as the lights dim, and we both start to make our way from cafeteria to Electrical, slowly feeling along the walls with our hands interlocked. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> And out of nowhere, I feel a pair of hands grab me, ripping me away from Eliza and pushing me back towards the hallway to admin. I topple over, trying to feel around in the dark for something to grab onto to stand up, eventually crawling over to the crates in the middle of the storage room. The lights go on a few moments later, and I look over to see Dream and Eliza come out of Electrical, Eliza looking confused. I take one look at her and start to run around the cafeteria, looking for... </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Nope. Not in there. I run to the right, peeking into all of the rooms that I come across and cursing when I find nobody. Eventually, I circle back to admin, running inside and... </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I don't even take the time to look at it. I don't want to, and I don't need to. I know who the other impostor is. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I warp everyone to the cafeteria table, taking my helmet off and saying, "I found Sapnap in admin." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Silence from the other two crewmates -- no, the crewmate and impostor. And then the impostor chuckles quietly. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "Okay, yeah." Dream says. "Because you killed him." </em>
</p>
<p><em> "Wh -- what?" I take a step back and cock my head towards him. "What are you talking about? It's clearly </em> you, <em> Dream!" </em></p>
<p><em> "Wow, okay, well, </em> wrong, <em> first of all." He says, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. I grit my teeth, glancing at Eliza, who stays silent. Listening, hopefully. "You weren't in Electrical when we turned the lights back on, and when we saw you, you just started running around --" </em></p>
<p><em> "Yeah, because I was looking for the body that </em> you <em> killed! You can't expect someone like me to see the lights go out during endgame and </em> not <em> expect someone to be dead." </em></p>
<p><em> "And," Dream says, basically ignoring me. "Are we going to ignore the fact that the last person that was in admin was you? Nobody else went in there, and you went in </em> twice. <em> First time to do your "card swipe" --" He puts heavy quotations around that. I scoff at him. "And the second was just now. You had so many opportunities to kill him while you were running around, "looking for a body," too." </em></p>
<p>"Well, I <em> didn’t. </em> And the only reason that I didn't come to Electrical is because I ran into a wall and got confused." I pout slightly. I wanted to use the cool 'Dream pushed me over' idea, but this is a simple video game, and not the intricate story I'm weaving in my mind. "And I don't run with my map up because it's easy to miss bodies that way."</p>
<p>
  <em> Dream scoffs, looking at Eliza with an almost 'can you believe her?' expression. Not that I can really see it, but I can imagine. "Yeah, okay, 'ran into a wall.' Sure. That's really convenient." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "It was actually rather inconvenient, because it gave you time to run past me from Admin and into Electrical with Eliza! I literally saw you!" </em>
</p>
<p><em> "Wow, that's a </em> really <em> convenient thing to add on at the end there -- how did you see me running past you in the dark?" </em></p>
<p><em> "Oh, please, we practically high-fived each other in the hallway there, lime doesn't exactly blend in." I make a face, scowling at him and his outfit and his practically glowing green hair. I wish his hair wasn't so distracting. It's kind of throwing me off my game. "And here's a question for you -- how the hell did you see me earlier? You were coming up from shields, and you said you could see me coming from the </em> other hallway <em> and into Storage. How could you have done that without impostor vision?" </em></p>
<p>
  <em> Dream looks slightly panicked (I think), but it only lasts for a millisecond before he's back to his smug, cocky smile. "I never said that you came from the other hallway. I walked in on you standing over Tubbo's body -- which, I mean, I said was sus, but it could have been a coincidence. We were more focused on Fundy at the time, but now that I think about it...you were probably waiting for me to come so you could report, weren't you? And you reacted too late?" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "What -- no!! Eliza, come on --" I turn to my friend, who had already pulled out her voting device. I pull mine out, vote Dream, and pocket it again. "He's just been following what I say this entire round --" </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "That's a little narcissistic." </em>
</p>
<p><em> "Shut it, green boy." I say, shooting a look in Dream's direction, who holds up his hands in mock surrender. "He didn't want to immediately accuse Fundy, he only started when I did! And -- he just changed his narrative, he completely said that I came down from the other hallway, he's </em> gaslighting you. <em> And -- Tommy, how did he see Tommy run past him when Tommy didn't see him?" </em></p>
<p>
  <em> "It's...weird that all of your evidence on him is based off of sight things," Eliza says, and my face falls. "And I was with him for most of the round. You left for the end of it. And..." She furrows her brows and looks at me. "It's really weird that you've discovered or was found next to every single body this game." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Next to her, out of her line of sight, I see Dream's grin grow, and I sigh. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Five seconds left. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> "I'm...sorry, (Y/N)." </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Eliza pushes the vote button on my name. </em>
</p>
<p><em> SKELPIE:<br/>
</em> <em> || </em></p>
<p><em> DREAM:<br/>
</em> <em> | </em></p>
<p>
  <em> I squeeze my eyes shut, and when I open them, I'm inside the airlock. Immediately, I can feel the oppressive atmosphere crushing me, the panic welling up inside of my chest, and I run to the sides of the room, pulling at knobs and bits on the wall, trying to find some sort of exit. My breathing grows heavier and faster as the red lights come on, and I move to scratch at the sides of the glass, almost trying to pull it away like a sliding door. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> Nothing works. I see Dream standing next to Eliza, who shifts a considerable distance away from him. I can see his shoulders start to shake a little bit, and she moves slightly closer, probably thinking that he's crying, and I bang on the window, screaming at her to move away. The shaking grows harder as the lights get deeper. I feel a little tingle, but nothing else happens -- I'm perfectly human. Eliza's eyes widen in realization, and she takes a large step backwards at the same time as Dream throws his head backwards, guffawing in pure ecstasy. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I scream in protest, banging on the glass again as Dream stalks towards her, grabbing her by the arm as she kicks and thrashes in his grip, screaming "NO" and "PLEASE" and "STOP," but of course, being the monster that he is, he doesn't. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I hear the click of the airlocks, and I hold my head in my hands, trying to hold my breath and keep my eyes on the scene ahead of me. Dream stands behind Eliza, one hand on her chin and one on her neck. The doors behind me open, and I'm forcefully yanked to the metal, and I scream in pain as my back collides with the solid doors. My breath is released, and I lift my hands to my throat as I try and gasp for air where there is none. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> The doors continue to open, and one of the last things I see through my blurry, tear-filled vision is Dream viciously twisting Eliza's head to the side, snapping her neck in less than an instant. She falls to the ground like a rock, and Dream waves goodbye with a long arm outstretched. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> I lose consciousness. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span class="u"> <em> DEFEAT </em> </span>
</p>
<p>I unmute, pretending to bow at my camera as chat gets released from emote-only mode.</p>
<p><em> reedsherbible: how do you do that EVERY TIME<br/>
</em> <em> kuzureeeeeyu: sis when is ur book coming out<br/>
</em> <b> <em>staedtler</em> </b> <em> : (Y/N) DRINK WATER NOW </em></p>
<p>I nod as my chat blows up with people telling me to drink water, sipping from the water bottle on the table. I need to stop narrating my Among Us games.</p>
<p>"Skelpie, what in the everloving ---- was that?" I hear Wilbur say, and I startle, doing a bit of a spittake.</p>
<p>"Wh-what? Sorry for not winning, I <em> was </em> acting sus for most of that game, Dream just had more leverage --"</p>
<p>"No, I'm not talking about the game, I'm talking about what you were saying <em> during </em> the game."</p>
<p><em> sincosintangentsin: OH YEAH WE YELLED AT THE DEAD PEOPLE TO WATCH<br/>
</em> <em> cansonXL: dead chat was watching</em><br/>
<em> what_pumpkin413: WILBUR WAS WATCHING STREAM</em><br/>
<em>mxmlooneytunes: wilbur, tubbo, george and eret and tommy and fundy were watching and sapnap just died so he couldnt open it up</em></p>
<p>My face lights up like a Christmas tree and I put my face in my hands. "I hate my chat so much...sorry, that was probably really -------- cringy, wasn't it, oh God, I'm sorry, I --"</p>
<p>"No, that was great!" Pipes up Tubbo, and I peek from between my hands. "It was like I was reading an actual, like, story, that was awesome!"</p>
<p>I hear general agreement coming from the group of people that watched, and I practically melt in my seat. I hate my chat, I hate my chat, I hate my chat, they all suck and wish death upon me, apparently. Because anyone that's watched my videos for more than an hour knows that I'm an awkward idiot and I wouldn't take compliments well at all.</p>
<p>"What are you guys talking about?" Dream asks.</p>
<p>"Skelpie narrates her Among Us games like a weirdo," Eliza says for me, and my face grows ten times redder. "It's amazing and she never likes anyone but her chat to talk about it, and I keep telling her that she could write one of those down and publish that ----- but she never listens. Some of her fans have written them down and stuff, there's a whole Google Doc collection of them. Wait, hold on a sec --"</p>
<p>"Yeah, just a minute, I need to use the bathroom, I'm coming back." Tommy says, and he mutes. I glance at my chat again and look generally mortified at what I see.</p>
<p>
  <em><b>NovaNova</b>: staedtler give me that transcript rq gimmie gimmie for the one that just happened</em>
</p>
<p>And then, a few lines later.</p>
<p>
  <em><b>staedtler</b>: ofc docs.google.com/document/d/fd2sjfk4s4jk34dwsn5sjkdfk/view</em>
</p>
<p>"Stae, I freaking <em> despise </em> you." I hiss, and chat is filled with LULs. I close it for a moment, crossing my arms.</p>
<p>"I'm gonna send this to you on Discord, Dream, and you're gonna hafta believe that this was said out freaking loud. Of the top of her head. I swear, she isn't human."</p>
<p>"Eliza, don’t you dare."</p>
<p>"Oh, come ooonnn sis, <em> someone </em> important needs to see your ramblings, 'cuz nobody except you thinks they're bad."</p>
<p>"Mmm...Skelpie, do you actually not want me to read it?" Dream questions. "'Cuz I won't if you seriously don't want to."</p>
<p>I sigh, leaning on one and and making a dismissive gesture with the other. "Whatever. Go ahead, you'd just watch the VOD later. And reading it is a lot better than hearing me mispronounce the name 'Eret' like eight times."</p>
<p>"How did you mispronounce <em> Eret?!</em>" The person in question exclaims, and everyone that watched my stream and Nova laughs. "Like, I am genuinely confused and kind of impressed at how you managed to do that so much."</p>
<p>"Shhh...we don't talk about it."</p>
<p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi! Wrote this in two days. It's twice as long as the last chapter, which I also wrote in two days.</p>
<p>:')</p>
<p>Anyways, comment to tell me if you want one more chapter of Among Us, or if you want to get vibed into the SMP next chapter. I REALLY wanna write an Impostor chapter, but if nobody wants to read that, then I won't write it, hehe.</p>
<p>I'll post in the comments how Dream and fundy managed to pull this off!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Impostor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You get to shine as the Impostor. Will you score a perfect win? Or were Eliza's praises unfounded?</p><p>CW/TW: Decapitation, more neck snapping, uhhh gunshots, tongue murder (you know the Among Us death animation),,,little brothers! And death, yep. And caps in the end note!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>
    <b>.•☆•.</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dream: skelpie that was awesome<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Dream: you said all of that off the top of your head??<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Skelpie: yyyyyes<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Dream: that’s amazing i genuinely dont understand how your brain works to be able to do that<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Skelpie: asjkdnsdkn tysm, it really means a lot<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Skelpie: also,,,why are you DMing me we’re literally in a call together lol<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Dream: you seemed to be p embarrassed, i didn’t want to make it worse, yk?<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Skelpie: you’re a lot more thoughtful than eliza, ill tell you that &gt;.&gt; /j</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>I smile slightly and close out the DMs as Tommy announces his return.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, are we all ready to go?” Dream asks, and we respond with a chorus of yesses. “Alright, I’m turning off confirm ejects and visual tasks -- no, shut up, they make the game too easy!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We lost the last round, Dream, what the hell are you going on about?” Says Tommy, and I giggle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, he’s right,” I pipe up. “Makes it way too easy. Shut ‘em off, Dream!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I watch the countdown with bated breath, my fingers tight in a cross. I spam-click the ‘Shhh!’ screen to reveal…</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>
      <span class="u">IMPOSTOR</span>
    </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>I punch the air in excitement, making sure I’m muted before letting out a series of excited...well, noises. I can’t call them squeals, they sure as hell don’t sound like them. Casey looks at me weird from my bed, putting his phone down, and I wave him off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No time for distractions -- I have a name to make for myself. I’m going to win this </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> keep the other impostor alive. It’ll be </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I make eye contact with my impostor buddy -- Tubbo. His demeanor reveals nothing, but he’s probably smiling right back.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I pull up my screen of fake tasks up and start to run to the right, letting everyone leave before setting off the reactor and changing course to Weapons. Tubbo is at weapons, standing by with a blank screen pulled up, supposedly firing at asteroids. It’s impossible to tell, though, as the windows are turned to opaque, which just helps our case.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We both make our way into storage, and I glance around. People are flooding in from the Electrical hallway, seeing as how basically everyone went to reset the reactor. Now people will be suspicious and think there’s a body on the right, and when there isn’t, it’ll be reassuring to them. Fun.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I run up to the Admin room, swiping my fake card flawlessly and checking the map. Okay...okay. Hopefully, Tubbo hasn’t killed anyone yet. I run around the map to look for him, eventually finding him running down from the cafeteria.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I watch my sabotage screen and wait for the time to reset, walking to weapons again before sabotaging Comms. I want to see if this works. I grab Tubbo’s arm and drag him over to me, waiting for everyone to run to Comms and trailing them from outside of their vision.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tubbo and I stand in the Comms doorway as six (Six! My luck is amazing today!) people crowd over the radios, trying to fix it. In the pile are Wilbur, Eret, Tommy, Elizabeth, Fundy, and George. Great, we’ve got some of the dumber ones here. I turn to the impostor dressed in yellow next to me, and I nod my head towards the group. He jumps slightly, looking startled, but I have already started to move.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My stomach growls, but I ignore it. This needs to be perfectly timed, nothing too obvious.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And by nothing too obvious, I mean nothing that’ll be seen. The noise level...doesn’t really matter.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I grab one of the people in the back, pulling them away from the group and knocking them onto the ground. The girl dressed in purple desperately tries to stand, or crawl away, do something, but I plant a foot on her side and pull out a small weapon hidden in my backpack. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tubbo almost split in two, the ‘suit’ parting to reveal several long rows of spiked teeth. His gums writhe and drip with something akin to acid, dark in tint and sizzling once it hits his victim’s shoes.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Poor Fundy isn’t even able to turn around before a tongue, solid and sharp at the end, imbeds itself in his head before sliding out slowly. At the same time, I plant two or three bullets between Nova’s ears, ceasing her movement entirely, save from a couple of twitches here and there. A blow her a kiss, with a small ‘ta-ta’ wave.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This all happened in a matter of ten, fifteen seconds.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tubbo and I dart out of the room at top speed, racing to the vent next to Shields and jumping in with a whoop. There isn’t really anywhere that we should be going, as the body will be reported in a few moments, so Tubbo pulls off his helmet, and I can clearly see the crazed look in his eyes. I tilt my head to the side with a raised eyebrow as he lets out a tiny, slightly frightening giggle. Aw!! Look at him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>I chortle, coving my mouth with my hands as I double over in laughter, wheezing through my speech as I try to tell my char, “I saw that on TikTok.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All I see are keysmashes, lmao’s, LULs and a few people saying that I have Dream energy or calling me a Dream kinnie in chat, and I have to stop myself from laughing even harder. I suppose it is a bit like the infamous ‘I saw that on Reddit,’ line.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We’re all warped to the cafeteria, and I take my helmet off, frowning. Everyone else does so too, and I can see the group that was at Comms looking dazed and confused, and, and this is the best part, extremely distrustful.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dream and Sapnap just look curious.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Where was the body?” Tubbo asks, and everyone suddenly breaks out into loud yelling and accusations.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eventually, Sapnap bangs a hand on the table, yelling, “WHERE WAS THE BODY? Jesus freakin’ Christ?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“‘The body,’ Sapnap, look around you!” Wilbur gestures around the table with a slight laugh. “Fundy and Nova are dead, and we were all in Comms!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, no, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I</span>
  <em>
    <span> wasn’t in Comms. I was with him -- er, Tubbo.” I say, putting a hand to my chest before jutting a thumb toward Tubbo. “I was doing tasks in Navigation, setting course, and I think Tubbo was standing by download…?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tubbo nods fervently before crossing his arms. “I was in the middle of download, I was practically finished with it, and then the body was called, I’m so sad.” Tubbo pouts, and the rest of the table laughs, and I lean on my arm a little bit.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Sapnap and I were far-right, I was doing fuel.” Dream says, and he turns to Sapnap, who jst says, “I was doing the click-and-drag thing where you line up the thing with the dotted lines in the room under Reactor.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That’s great and all, but can we talk about how two of the impostors are literally Tommy, George, or Eret?” Wilbur says, and I hear cries of outrage from the people mentioned.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, it sure as s--t isn’t me!” Tommy yells, and I have to hold back a laugh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well, everyone, you know how you move a little bit when you kill someone?” Eret says, and everyone’s like...yeah? What does </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> have to do with anything? “Well, when you do a stack kill, you kind of move to the top of the pile, and I swear I saw Tommy at the top of the pile when we came out of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yooooou motherF----R, Eret, what the hell does that have to do with anything, you’re really telling them to vote me out because of something so stupid, I think it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> because that’s so ridiculously </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I tilt my head from side to side before nodding. “Yeah, I really can’t trust that you were paying attention to that -- you certainly weren’t expecting a stack kill there, right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eret fiddles with his gloves and shakes his head. “Well, no, but it’s something that I noticed….”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I lean on the table. “Well, that’s a little weird that you’re willing to vote someone out based on something that you thought you saw, right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eret waves his hands in front of him, shaking his head. “I’m not trying to accuse, I’m just saying that that’s what I said!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“‘I’m not trying to accuse’ he says while directly f------g accusing me!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, well,” Tubbo clears his throat. “Wouldn’t it be safer to just...get rid of all of them? I mean, if we’re sure that both of the Impostors are there, then can’t we just vote them all out for an easy win?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sapnap’s eyes glisten with something fearful as he pumps a fist into the air, yanking out his voting device and saying, “Hell yeah, vote Eret first for being sus!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I -- what did I say to be sus?!” Eret cries, stepping slightly away from the table. Nobody is really listening, though -- I can hear the sounds of confirmed votes from around the table, and I pull out my own device with a grim expression, voting for Eret and pocketing it again with a wince.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Eret, if it isn’t you...sorry.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The projection appears on the screen, and I have to stop a huge grin form appearing on my face.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>ERET:<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>||||||||</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>I let out a loud laugh, covering my mouth as everyone else does the same. “Aw, oh no, did you vote for yourself? Awhe, Eret…” I mute myself to keep my snickers at bay. Sad.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We’re all warped to the airlock -- what a grim cycle. Do </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>tasks, get killed, vote, kill, do it all over again...I’d like to think that I’m helping these poor little creatures. Giving them a little spice in their dreary ship life.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ending their dreary ship life.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Unlike before, with Tommy and Fundy or whatever, my chest doesn’t ache whilst I watch Eret in the airlock. Probably because I’m the reason they’re in there. Or perhaps it’s because they don’t put up as much of a fight. Oh, I can see the panic in their eyes, of course, it’s evident as they run a shaky hand through their hair, but they don’t scream or cry like Tommy did.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s almost as if they’ve already accepted it. The red lights shine in their eyes, wide and darting around the room, as if they’re looking for an exit. I, as the superior species, can easily hear their inane muttering as they check around the walls for something to release them, much like I did last round.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The red lights’ flashing becomes faster and more constant, and Eret’s breathing grows heavier, and too late do they make an attempt to plead for their life, their cries landing on deaf ears. It’s kind of funny that they made the airlock soundproof, and only the Impostors can hear them in there. It’s a very ironic happenstance, really. I hear the airlocks click open, and only then does their composure really shatter, and their screaming and crying even makes me flinch.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Truth be told, I really like Eret. It’s sad that they were the first to go. But, then again, making any sort of a specific accusation in such a weird scenario was bound to backfire -- I really thought they were smarter than that. But alas, I suppose my compliments were misplaced.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe Eret isn’t watching, but I generally don’t care as I look pointedly into the camera with a flat expression before turning back to my screen. Really, man?</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Anyways, the airlock finally opens, and Eret is forcefully yanked to the back of the room. I tilt my head to the side in slight amusement as they try to fight against the vacuum of space with empty lungs and probably a broken bone from being slammed into metal like that. It’s a new once, certainly -- usually, they just sit there as the door opens, choking and gasping for air.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well...it’s certainly something new. A bit funny, once you consider how futile their efforts are. Poor Eret doesn’t want to die, but the crewmates have given them no other choice, what awful, awful people.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I laugh when Eret is sucked out, my helmet already back on as we’re warped back into the cafeteria.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I start to trail behind Tommy and Wilbur, who both head into Medbay. I follow them in, and I see Tubbo do the same. He’s sticking to me like I’m Captain freakin’ Sparkles, but I suppose it isn’t uncalled for. Who wouldn’t want to stick to me, I’m the greatest Impostor of all time.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>(I look into the camera and mouth “no I’m not” before turning back to the game.)</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tommy steps onto the scanner first, and Wilbur stands right next to him, undoubtedly checking to see if he actually has it. And he definitely does, which means that Tommy needs to go as soon as possible.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But then Tommy steps off and lets Wilbur on, before checking right after him. They both have scans. They both need to go. Great. That makes things just so much easier, doesn’t it? Sheesh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thankfully, this has let our kill cooldowns almost halve themselves, and since the two of them have scan and are definitely waiting for each other now, we’ll have ample time to do what we need to. Well...for me to do what I need to do.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I could make this such an easy win, but c’mon. We’re content creators, I need to give them content. Ending it that quick would just be cruel, who’s going to get a YouTube video out of that? Aside from me, of course.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>My phone buzzes on with a notification from Discord, and I glance at it for a second.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fundy: the sudden boost of confidence when you’re impostor is really terrifying i hope you know that</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>My face burns and I turn my phone over. Yeah, okay. I’m gonna tone this down a notch. (No, I’m not.) I’ll at least be less meta with it.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>As soon as my kill cooldown reaches zero, Tommy steps off of the medbay scanner, and I reach into the bag behind me and pull out a knife -- made of something that does the job of cutting through thick spacesuits easily. My hand swings out, and the blade sinks directly into Tommy’s back.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I wish I could see the look on his face, but there’s not time for that. While he’s stunned, I place a hand on the top of his helmet and push his head forwards, giving him literally no time to react before my knife is embedded in the back of his neck. I let it go, and Tommy falls over, hands trying to reach for the blade lodged into his flesh as it seeps through the fabric of his suit, eventually becoming still.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I immediately pull out my reporting device, warping everyone to the cafeteria before Wilbur can do so.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We all appear around the table, and Wilbur, Tubbo and I all whip off our helmets and slam them onto the table at the same time.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wilbur, was that a misclick or something? There’s no way you could be that stupid.” I chortle, leaning on the cafeteria table.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tubbo takes a far more direct approach, thrusting a finger towards Wilbur, yelling, “Wilbur just freakin’ -- he just killed Tommy in front of the both of us! In front of (Y/N) and I!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I hold out my voting device as Wilbur yells, spam-clicking his name as the discussion time runs out, voting him immediately.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I didn’t do s--t, Skelpie, just murdered Tommy as soon as he got off of medbay scan, what are you talking about, Tubbo?!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I roll my eyes, “Wilbur, we both literally saw you do that Cha-Cha Slide over Tommy and he died, this is 2v1, you’re done!” I make a stopping motion with my hands, placing them on the table. “I’m like, 99% sure that was a misclick, unless you thought that you could gaslight Tubbo that badly?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wh -- no!! I literally had scan, Tommy checked me and I checked him!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s a little convenient that the only person that could confirm you is dead, Wilbur.” George says through small chuckles, and I nod sagely.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Before I could even blink, all of the votes were tallied up. Jesus. That was a little too easy.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>WILBUR:</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>|||||</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>SKELPIE:</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>|</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>In an instant, we’re by the airlock yet again, Wilbur dropped inside of it carelessly. Much like Eret, Wilbur doesn’t immediately put up as much of a fight. But even a normal crewmate can see the look of pure, unfettered rage displayed on Wilbur’s face, all of it  directed at me. His eyes are practically glowing as he glowers at me with all the hate in his body, and I shudder, taking a step backwards.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Usually, I think Wilbur is adorable, but right now? He just looks scary, lanky and tall, his freckles seemingly glowing </span>
  </em>
  <span>red</span>
  <em>
    <span> because of the lights in the room. The entire scene is menacing, and he doesn’t even react to the airlocks clicking open.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The dude’s got the mindset of an Impostor right about now, I’m sure. Specifically towards me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The door starts to open, but he isn’t forcefully pulled towards it -- smart guy, he was already pressed against the door. No need for the unnecessary pain before death, right?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wrong.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wilbur, easily being the tallest out of everyone sent to the airlock, is somehow lined up...just perfectly for something special to happen. The doors lower open, and Wilbur’s head ends up being in the exact spot where it stops. The force of the vacuum is more than enough to tear his head from his shoulders, only giving a moment to react before the rest of his body is pulled out after him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I glance at Tubbo, who looks nothing less than thrilled at the excessive violence, and I close my eyes, running the scene through my mind over and over.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I open them, back in the cafeteria, and shrug. Oh well. Sucks to suck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chat, don’t capital dee colon me, I’m just being in-character.” I laugh at my chat, which has just become a ton of ‘D:’s in a row. “S’not like I’ve never been spookier as an impostor. I try to be scary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I blink a couple of times and shrug. “And fail. Miserably. But hey, at least I’m trying!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I trot downwards, mostly just roaming around until my kill counter is done so Tubbo and I can win. I just dance around in Storage for a few seconds...and I almost have a heart attack when an alarm blares and I find myself in the cafeteria again.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I look at Dream, who’s holding his megaphone as I take off my helmet, asking, “What gives, Dream? Can we do our tasks, we’re nowhere near finished.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dream blatantly ignores me and says, “So are we voting Skelpie out to be safe?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I -- </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>what?</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>” I exclaim, placing my hands on my hip. “I literally saw Wilbur do it, what the hell are you going on about?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We’re on five, all the impostors need here is a single kill if they’re still here, it’s best to play it safe. You’re the only other person that it could be right now.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I scoff, and gesture at George. “Well, what about George? He was in the pile with the first kill, and we haven’t kicked him out yet.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah, but three of the four people there are dead, one of them was innocent, and the other two I don’t think were impostors either. The two killers could have just run into comms, killed people, and run out.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That’d be...</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> hard to pull off, Dream.” Tubbo squeaks, fidgeting with his gloves. “The timing would have to be perfect.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And who here is known for pulling off incredibly big-brain plays like that?” I question pointedly, and Dream merely raises an eyebrow...I think? That’s what his face seems to do. No idea, really, just a guess.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, now we’re just throwing around accusations -- Tubbo, exactly what did you see in Medbay?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh, what happened in Medbay?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Last round, Tubbo --”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, right, sorry, um, so…” Tubbo looks down, and I can almost see the gears turning in his head. He’s cooking something up, I can feel it. “A-After I killed Tommy on scan, uhm -- s--t, wait, no, after I watched </span>
  </em>
  <span>Wilbur </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill --”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He can’t even continue speaking over the roar of laughter from the remaining crewmates, even myself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While everyone else thinks he’s a little bit stupid, I’m commending him. You beautiful baby bastard.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait, Tubbo, you did </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>?!” I say, feigning surprise.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tubbo groans, putting his head in his hands and shaking his head. “Aw, come on...that was awful. Just awful. Just end my misery.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tubbo, I thought Wilbur -- how did you even --?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tubbo is better at this game than he lets on, but then he does things like that.” Dream says through laughs, pulling out his voting device. I do the same and vote Tubbo, slightly peeved that I won’t do this as flawlessly as I had wanted.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well. He ran a good game and he gave it to me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>TUBBO</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>|||||</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m still confused as to how he managed to fool both me </span>
  </em>
  <span>and</span>
  <em>
    <span> Wilbur.” I say as we’re warped away, trying to further solidify how bamboozled by the younger boy I had been.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tubbo, small, golden crown still resting softly atop his hair, tilts his head to the side, looking around the airlock with a bit of bored curiosity. He sits there like that until the airlocks finally click open, and he starts to be dragged out o the room, but not as easily as everyone else.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Us Impostors are a different breed. A different, scarier, and infinitely stronger breed.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The boy takes his last few moments to give the remaining crewmates a large, toothy grin -- with his real mouth, not the human one. Though he’s smiling with that, too.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We’re all warped back to the cafeteria.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh, how is this round not </span>
  <em>
    <span>over yet?!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sapnap groans, and I shush him. This is the hard bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I run off to Security, watching everyone split off into their little sections of the ship, finishing up their few remaining tasks left. Looks like the ghosts are actually doing their own jobs this round...which places on me the most upsetting and stressful time limit.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I call lights once my kill cooldown is over, and decide to do something risky. I run from the room under Reactor to lights, waiting right next to the door for the first person to come, who I know will be…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dream. I grin and crack my knuckles, knowing that it’ll be a while until either of the others make their way over.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I lean in the doorframe until he gets close enough before grabbing him, yanking him towards me and ignoring his yelp of protest, wasting no time before punching him directly in the stomach. He stumbles and almost falls over, and I use the moment of weakness to pull his helmet off, his weird, gravity-defying green hair floating around his masked face, on which...well, I can’t completely tell, but I’d love to assume that he’s scared. I cup his face in my hands before smiling and quickly twisting his head to the right with a sickening crack.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I watch his hair float to the ground, draining of color until it’s a dull brown, perhaps dirty blond. It doesn’t float anymore.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I sniff and look outwards. Lame.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I park myself next to the far-right entrance to Storage, letting Sapnap pass first without seeing me and tapping George on the shoulder, following him towards lights…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, we don’t even make it there.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I close my eyes softly, and when I open them again, we’re in the cafeteria. Again. I take my helmet off and raise an eyebrow.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Dream’s body was somewhere around Electrical, I didn’t actually see it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, well, it had to be Sapnap, right?” George questions, and I tilt my head to the side, feigning confusion. “Skelpie and I ran from the right together and you were ahead of us, so you just killed him and immediately self-reported, right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I internally punch the air, glad my little legerdemain worked on the Brit. “I...guess so? Yeah, I think that makes sense.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wh -- no, it’s George, it’s George, he’s trying to pin it on me and I just walked on the body being already there!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“But I walked into Storage </span>
  </em>
  <span>with</span>
  <em>
    <span> George.” I point out. “There’s no way he could have done that.” George nods and I suppress a snicker. It’s funny because that’s exactly what I did.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, I dunno, maybe he killed him earlier and then came back to it with us so he doesn’t look suspicious?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Can’t’ve, I saw him just before the lights went out.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait, you did?” George asks, confused. “I didn’t see you around…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You didn’t see me?” I question, voice cloying and deceptively light. “I poked my head in while you were doing some task in Nav -- maybe the screen was up or something?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Really, I was just watching the cameras. I can only hope that my unstable canard holds up.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I watch Geotge’s expression with bated breath before he shrugs and mutters, “probably.” He pulls out his voting device at the same time as Sapnap, and they quite obviously vote for each other. I hum quietly and look at my chat, choking my head to the side and raising my eyebrows with a knowing smile.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I pull out my voting device, make my pick, and pocket it again.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The projector appears, and I grin.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>SAPNAP</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>|</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>GEORGE</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>|</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Both of their heads whip towards me in confusion, wonder why I skipped as they move to put their helmets on...but not before the look of realization dawns on their faces.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Skeld is still pitch black.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t even waste time putting my hemet back on -- I dash to the lights and camp there, waiting for someone else to come.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I spend the next several seconds enriching in a switch war with Sapnap, who is destined to lose against someone who’s been doing this since 2018.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who should I go for, chat? My kill cooldown is already done, but I want George to come over first…”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A few more seconds pass, and I finally see George’s blue character come up from the bottom. I close out the lights panel, heading out of the room, but somehow, the boys are already ahead of me. I’m not particularly worried, though. My Sabotage screen is already up, and I move to shut the doors to the Cafeteria, but the icon has already darkened.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I smile slightly. I can almost hear Tubbo’s quiet giggles. I’m glad that he wasn’t an officious ghost -- it could’ve gotten really annoying.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I menacingly stand at the end of the hallway with a smile, reaching into my bag to pull out the gun I used  for my first kill this round. The two boys press against the doors, almost trying to will them open, but they can’t override the sabotage -- those doors stay shut for fifteen seconds, no more, no less.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>I unmute and deafen myself.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Eenie, meenie, miney, moe.” I tilt my head from side to side with each word, moving the weapon back and forth between each target. “Catch a crewmate by his toe.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I let out a chuckle. “If he screams...oh, don’t let him go.” I laugh though the last few words as if the mere idea of letting either of them get away is that outlandish to me. It is.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Eenie, meenie, miney…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My eyes sparkle and I flash a terrifying grin as the gun falls on George, pointing directly at his head.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Moe.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I fire. </span>
  </em>
  <span>(I mute and undeafen myself.)</span>
  <em>
    <span> George crumples to the ground, and in the next instant, Sapnap falls on top of him. The bullets leave dents in the metal doors behind them that open years, decades too late, yet only about a second or so after the deed is done.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I smile at the display, heading to Navigation to chart my course.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>VICTORY</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>I grab my bottle of water, say, “Tubbo, you are the greatest Impostor buddy I could have asked for,” and down the rest of my drink. Jesus, my throat is sore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tubbo, did you give yourself away just so (Y/N) could stay in the game?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Skelpie, what the f--k was that at the end --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, yeah! I was basically just following her lead the entire game, plus it was her first Imp round --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was the ballsiest kill I’ve ever see, at Comms back there --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys weren’t kidding, that was awesome!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>told y’all</span>
  </em>
  <span> she’s scary as an Impostor, it’s ridiculous!” Eliza laughs, and my smile grows. The overlapping voices calmed after a while, and I dance around the lobby, singing about my victory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“(Y/N),” Wilbur says darkly, and I stop dancing and singing to pay attention. “Next time you’re Impostor, just f-----g tell us, I’m sure you’ll be able to swindle your way out of that somehow, but just save us the extra trouble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I giggle and scratch the back of my neck. “Yeah...sorry about that, you and Tommy confirmed each other on scan, so you both had to go.” I furrow my brows and pout slightly. “I did want a perfect win, though. To make a name for myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about making a name for yourself, you already succeeded, </span>
  <em>
    <span>trust me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Fundy says, and I chuckle. “Also -- what else would’ve been a perfect win?! That was flawless!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I roll my eyes a bit. “Keeping Tubbo alive the entire time, of course. But alas,” I lean back in my chair, the back of my hand pressed against my forehead. “I was not prepared for the sudden and extreme vicissitudes of Dream’s IQ -- that emergency meeting really screwed me over, y’know. I was set for the game, and then you called that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I can hear the smile in Dream’s voice as he responds, “Is that why you snapped my neck the round after?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got it, green boy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>
  <span>We play Among Us for a few hours before I have to end stream. I read out the last few donos before ending and raiding Eliza, who’s moved on to play Minecraft or something or another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I lean back in my seat, smiling and running a hand through my hair. Casey left the room a while ago -- when I asked him if he was just going to watch Eret’s POV, he didn’t answer, so I’m assuming that. I find his infatuation with the streamer a little funny, and a little cute -- he really admires them. I should probably tell Eret at a point if I ever get to talk to them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’m still trying to process the fact that I just played Among Us with the gods of Twitch -- Wilbur Soot </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> TommyInnit </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dreamwastaken were there. If I’m thinking from a purely emotionless standpoint...well, that is a whole lot of people finding out who I am. Which is great and all, but my reach is slightly less important to me than the opportunity to be friends with some of the coolest people on the planet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And what better way could I do that than by joining the SMP with all of them inside? I’m going to have to thank Tommy later...not that he’d accept it at all, of course. Tommy has a reputation to uphold, and I understand and resonate with it wholeheartedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s so ridiculous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I flop over onto my bed, letting my arm cover my eyes for a few moments before I feel another person flop right next to me. I don’t have to move my arm to know who it is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you waaant, Casey?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…” I can feel him shift into a sitting position, and I get ready for the flood of questions. “Are you friends with Wilbur now? Do you think they think you weird narrating thing is weird? Do you think you’ll be friends with Eret eventually? Do you think they’d wanna meet me at some point? When are you gonna join the SMP? Are you gonna stream it? Are you gonna join L’Manburg’s side or Dreams? When  --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I sit up with wide eyes, laughing slightly. “Oh my God, Casey, let me answer some first.” I tilt my head towards him, and he just looks at me in expectation. “Alright, let’s see...not really, probably, maybe, maybe, I don’t know --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“(Y/N)...” Casey whines, shaking my shoulder. “I can’t remember everything I asked, go through it slowly!!” I smack his arm off with a chuckle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay. I’m not really friends with Wilbur -- that takes time, okay? Plus, I got him kicked out and brutally decapitated in Among Us, that probably didn’t help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Casey nods solemnly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They probably think the narrating thing is weird/cool, but I’m gonna do it anyways because it’s fun and my chat likes it. It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> way of being entertaining during Among Us, which is! Really f-----g hard, okay?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, totally, I was watching Pokimane play it the other day, with Sean and like Corpse, totally not as interesting as y --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shshshsh.” I hold up a finger to Casey’s mouth, and he swats it away. “No insulting Poki in this household. Anyways, I hope I can be Eret’s friend, they’re super cool -- and maybe they’ll wanna meet you someday, too! You’d probably piss yourself, which means more content for me, I guess --” Casey punches my arm, and I shove him back, and he descends onto me. I hold him back, giggling through my words. “I’m kidding, Jesus Christ! Do you want me to answer questions or not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, we calm down, and I think back to his inquiries. “I’m probably gonna join whenever Dream whitelists me and Nova, and yeah, I wanna stream it. The clout, Casey, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>clout!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I fall back on my bed, and he looks at me with a weird expression. “The views, the subs, the donos -- not that that’s what I care about, of course, but I’m not gonna </span>
  <em>
    <span>ignore</span>
  </em>
  <span> that aspect of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I sit up with a raised eyebrow, rocking from side to side slightly. “And as for who I’m gonna support in the upcoming war…” I smile slightly, before telling him to come closer, as if there was someone that could be listening in, before whispering my decision to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was this all already planned out? Well, I’d like you to consider who I am -- a storyteller. Someone who is excessively extra just for the hell of it. You don’t think I’ve fantasised about joining this SMP from the moment that things got spicy? Of course I did. Countless nights when I couldn’t sleep? I’m imagining stuff like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Casey gasps after hearing what I said, looking at me with wide eyes, and I nod. He places a hand on my shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you kindly, soldier. Now, uh, get out of my room.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <b>.•☆•.</b>
  </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Whips. Badly paced.</p><p>Nae-naes. Took one week.</p><p>Dabs. Not proof-read.</p><p>Yuh, this chapter is a mess, but, y'know, whatever. Shorter than the last chapter, probably becaus e the round was a little faster, or maybe because writer's block smacked me in the head like a baseball in the middle of it, who knows! Joining the SMP next chapter.</p><p>It's times like these when I'm glad that I didn't commit to any sort of schedule aside from "as soon as I finish writing the actual chapter."</p><p>EDIT: HOW DID I FORGET TO SAY THIS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 1K VIEWS AND LIKE 150 KUDOS HOLY HELL I WASN'T EXPECTING THIS!!!!! &lt;3 &lt;3 &lt;3!!!!!!</p><p>(also can someone talk to me in the comments abt insane Wilbur PLEASE I'm still screaming about Thrusday's stream)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. S&S</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Summoning and swindling.</p><p>CW/TW: Descriptions of something like a ritual, gaslighting, a Zootopia reference.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>“Dream, what the hell are you building at spawn?” Tommy questions, confused. “My chat is just yelling at me to go to f-----g spawn of all places --”</p><p>“Well, yeah Tommy, I’m building something important.” Dream muses in a low voice, not giving a direct answer.</p><p>“Why are you being so f-----g weird -- my chat is half just screaming at me to go to spawn and half smiles.” He cackles and Dream chuckles, continuing his little build.</p><p>It’s just a quartz table, a lot like the one in Church Prime, actually. The carpet surrounding it is (F/C). Eventually, Tommy shows up, finding a way into the shoddy spawn trap and starting at the ‘altar.’ He turns to Dream with what one could only assume is a greatly confused expression.</p><p>“Dream, why have you built an altar right in the middle of spawn? Is -- is this an extension of Church Prime or am I missing something here?”</p><p>“What? No, I’m going to be summoning something -- and it’s going to be really ool, and you actually have to be here for it, so this is perfect…”</p><p>Dream trails off and goes still, seemingly sorting through his inventory.</p><p>I sway slightly in my seat, humming quietly. My plan is set in motion -- currently, Twitch is streaming what’s on one of my screens, which is actually watching Dream’s stream. I’m really working on my second monitor, which previously had me in the Hypixel lobby before I switched, but now is backed out onto the server lists page, entering the IP of a brand new server.</p><p>Convoluted? Absolutely. But all is fair for a cool bit.</p><p>
  <em> Tommy brushes the leaves off of his shirt, frowning slightly at the surrounding forest before setting his sights on Dream, glowering at him with distaste at the masked man standing ahead of him. “Summoning -- Dream, I’m not engaging in any occult bulls--t here, I hope you know that.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He crosses his arms, and Dream laughs, waving him off. “It’s nothing serious -- you’ll be happy with the end result, I promise.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy scoffs. “Famous last words.” </em>
</p><p>dramallama101: skelpie is typing a lot everyone, she’s invested in the bit</p><p>“Shut up, I am typing for something completely different that definitely has nothing to do with the intricate plot that’s being weaved together by Dream, no, chat, you’re wrong.” I say it dryly, continuing to type. It’s <em> my </em> bit, I get to write it down, chat can can it.</p><p>
  <em> The sunset projects into the air billions of shades of red and orange and yellow that appear just over the treetops before sinking behind them to let the moon rule the sky. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Only then does Tommy notice the glowing blue torches placed around, and he takes a wary step back. “D-Dream, why do you have a bunch of soul torches about? Can’t you just use --?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Well, Tommy,” Dream cuts him off, grinning. The blue flames placed in what is seemingly a pattern around the ground of spawn casts a menacing glow onto Dream’s stark white mask. The flockers of the torches cool next to Dream for some reason, turning slightly orange. “You’ve gotta use soul torches when you’re dealing with souls.” </em>
</p><p><em> “ </em> <em> Souls?? </em> <em> ” Tommy shrieks in disbelief, glancing to the side. “Chat, I was not prepared for this bit, I was </em> <em> not prepared for this bit. </em> <em> ” </em></p><p>
  <em> “Relax, Tommy, nothing’s gonna hurt you.” Dream says flippantly, smoothing out the banners before abruptly turning to Tommy with an almost sly smile. “That is...well, you’ve heard of what happens when people mess up rituals like this.” The older boy wiggles his fingers at Tommy. “Whatever bad things happen, the penalty for screwing it up will be ten times worse, trust me.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy freezes, suddenly looking far more aware of where he’s stepping before letting out a nervous laugh. “Ehehe...yeah, okay, uhm, what exactly do I do here, Dream?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream gestures outwards. “Stand at the edge of that circle of torches.” </em>
</p><p><em> “ </em> <em> Where </em> <em> , exactly? I don’t want to accidentally, y’know, summon a demon because I stood a block too far to the right.” </em></p><p><em> “How do you know we’re not </em> <em> trying </em> <em> to summon a demon?” Dream jokes. </em> (I scoff.) <em> He rolls his eyes at Tommy’s sudden, panicked silence. He sighs and says, “Anywhere is fine, Tommy.” </em></p><p>
  <em> The child in question lets out a breath of relief, standing at the far end of the circle, further away from the altar. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Great, now what?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Okay!” Dream claps his hands together, smile never dropping. “Now, here comes the serious part.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> A little screen and keyboard pop up in front of him, and his hands fly over the letters, typing up a message to send to the global chat. </em>
</p><p><b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; anyone who says antrhin in chat after tommy starts to chant or after i say aforementioned chant is gettign cursed</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;BadBoyHalo&gt; o.O ok…</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;Fundy&gt; got it, big man</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;Sapnap&gt; bet</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; sapnap i will ban you if you get cursed in my server we dont need those bad vibes</em> </b></p><p>
  <em> “Sorry, cursed?!” Tommy exclaims, taking a step back, but Dream yells at him not to move any further. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Tommy, if you move any further back, you will be experiencing that curse I mentioned and it isn’t going to be pleasant!” Tommy freezes, and Dream releases a sigh, arms falling to his sides in relief. “Jesus. Christ. Stop actually trying to kill us all.” </em>
</p><p><em> “I-I don’t even know why I’m here, Dream, I’m not doing </em> <em> s--t </em> <em> --” </em></p><p>
  <em> “Okay, so,” Dream continues as if he didn’t hear Tommy, who sends him a scowl. “I’m going to post the chant you need to say --” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Wh -- why do I have to say it?!” Tommy protests. “And why can’t you just tell it to me?!” </em>
</p><p><em> “It won’t work if I say it, I need to do something else, </em> <em> Tommy </em> <em> ,” Dream responds, exasperated. “And since you need to say it, if I say it now, I’ll be --” </em></p><p>
  <em> “Cursed, I’m assuming?” Tommy says, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, I got it.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Attaboy. Alright, here’s the chant…” </em>
</p><p><b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; under the glow of pale moonlight</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; and limpid nether flame</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; enclosed in gifts and fire of fright</em> </b></p><p>
  <em> Moments pass in silence before Tommy confusedly asks, “Uh, Dream? Where’s the last line?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream shrugs. “No idea. The book said that what we're summoning will finish it for us.” </em>
</p><p><em> “Oooh no, there is no </em> <em><span class="u"> we</span> </em> <em> here, Dream, there is no </em> <em><span class="u"> us</span></em><em>.” Tommy insists through gritted teeth. “</em><em><span class="u">You’re</span> </em> <em> summoning it, </em> <span class="u"><em> I</em></span>  <em> was dragged in to help, that’s </em> <em><span class="u"> it</span></em><em>.” </em></p><p>
  <em> “Yes, of course. Now, we need to hurry -- we need to do this before sunrise --” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “What? Why?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You read the chant, it’s ‘under the moonlight’ -- plus, if we start and don’t finish by then, we’ll --” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Be cursed, yeah. Just tell me what to do, Dream.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Great! I’m gonna need you to do exactly as I say, alright?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy lets out a huff before shooting the ominous masked man a lazy salute. “Whatever you say, Big D.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Yes, exactly. Now --” Dream stands in front of the altar, feet together and arms spread out. He stands directly across from Tommy, the circle of torches in between the two of them. “We call upon you, our summoner, to appear within these walls, whinin the confines of the code that stitches together the very fabric of this SMP.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy quietly whispers a bunch of “what the f--k”s as the light from the torches almost seems to glow brighter on the bottom of Dream’s mask, making the shadow cast on top all the more menacing. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream continues. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “We offer you items of importance...and our medium, Tommy.” </em>
</p><p><em> Tommy is so startled that he almost moves back. “Wh -- what the f--k do you mean </em> <em> me</em><em>, are you offering </em> <span class="u"><em> me</em></span><em>?!” </em></p><p><em> “Shh…” Dream says quietly, and Tommy’s mouth snaps shut. Whether it was willingly or not is unclear. </em>(I can just...I can hear the voice simps swooning. I can see that little clip of Dream just saying ‘shh’ all over TikTok in the next few days, and I shudder. Jesus.)</p><p><em> Dream suddenly tosses a disk into the middle of the torches, and Tommy’s face twists into an expression of pure rage. “Is -- is that </em> <em> my disk?!</em><em>” </em></p><p>
  <em> “What? No, it’s Pigstep -- what would it want with one of your disks, Tommy?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Doesn’t matter, I was about to take it and f-----g strangle you, curse be f-----g damned.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Tommy...shut up.” Dream tilts his head to the side before continuing. “We --” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You.” </em>
</p><p><em> “</em><em>WE </em> <em> offer this, your favorite of the music disks scattered around this land, as a gift to you, so you might be taken from wherever you may be to spend your days here, on this SMP.” </em></p><p>
  <em> There is a sudden quiet noise that comes from a distance. The painful, grinding, constant sound almost makes Tommy cover his ears. He doesn’t though. God knows what will trigger some awful spell to befall him in this weird situation. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream lifts his head slightly, relishing in the noise. His green eyes start to pale, and his mask glows even brighter. His hands turn slightly upwards, and he looks at the younger boy. “Tommy, say the chant.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “U-Under the glow of pale moonlight and limpid Nether flame, uh, enclosed in gifts and fire of fright…” Tommy crosses his arms. “I feel like I’m in Church right now, Jesus.” He laughs nervously, but gets no response from Dream. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy now notices that not only is Dream’s mask glowing, but the soul torches are now growing slightly bigger. He fiddles with his sleeves before piping up, saying, “D...Dream --?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “We offer this --” Dream conjurses and equips the next gift and tosses it in the middle, and Tommy’s blood runs cold. “A Wither skeleton skull, a rare item, offered up to you so you might be taken from wherever you may be to spend your days here, on this SMP.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Dream, m-maybe we shouldn’t f--k with this, I mean, what if it --” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Chant.” </em>
</p><p><em> “Yes, but what if it doesn’t </em> want <em> to ‘spend it’s days’ --” </em></p><p><em> “Tommy, </em> <span class="u"><em> chant</em></span><em>.” </em></p><p>
  <em> “Oookay, big man.” Tommy laughs again, clearly trying to brush off his nervousness...and the way that Dream seems to be taking this seriously. “Under the glow of pale moonlight and limpid Nether flame, uh, enclosed in gifts and fire of fright…” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dreams arms suddenly fall to his sides as the flames explode upwards, roaring, almost going up to Tommy’s torso. The heat is uncomfortable, and Tommy wishes more than anything he could take a step back right now. The noise  from earlier has come back, and now is even louder -- but the orignal noise is still there. It’s like there’s a louder version just layered on top. The non-stop inhuman screeching (that he sort of recognizes?) grates against his ears. He grits his teeth. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Hey, Dream?!” He yells over the sound, staring at the taller man, who seems to be mesmerized by the flames...one of which turned completely orange at the place where he’s standing. Tommy has to resist the urge to groan.Dream’s probably some weird demon creature thing trying to summon his buddy, isn’t he? “M-Maybe we should stop, this is getting out of -- hey!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy’s cries land on deaf ears as he’s shoved into the circle by Dream, who stands exactly where the younger boy was just moments ago. Tommy opens his mouth -- probably to cuss Dream out -- but the older boy suddenly holds a finger to his mouth, silent and creepy. </em>
</p><p><em> “If you say anything, anything at all, you’re instantly gonna be burned to a crisp, Tommy,” Dream warns in a low voice. “I suggest shutting up.” That got Tommy’s mouth to snap closed real quick. Dream smiles.</em> (I almost bang my head on the table. The voice simps in my chat are losing it.)<em> “Good. We give you this... </em> <em> final </em> <em> offering -- out Medium, whom you have taken such interest in, so you might be taken from wherever you may be to spend your days here, on this SMP.” </em></p><p>
  <em> Dream takes a deep breath. “Under the glow of pale moonlight and limpid Nether flame, enclosed in gifts and fire of fright…” As he speaks, the flames burst even higher, bright and beautiful and blue, aside from the one directly in front of Dream, which is now also orange. His mask glows, and if you look closely, you can see thin, pure white cracks forming in it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Under the glow of pale moonlight and limpid Nether flame, enclosed in gifts and fire of fright…” Tommy looks genuinely horrified at the display going on in front of him, his hands loosely covering his mouth -- partially out of shock and partially out of intense fear for his life. Dream looks out into the distance momentarily, and suddenly, the noise grows even louder, even more intrusive, and Tommy can’t stop himself from covering his ears, trembling slightly. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> And then the noise dies down, and everything is silent. The only sound that can be heard is the clacking of keys coming from Dreams end, who’s chat is popen and keyboard is out. He types slowly, deliberately, and every letter makes his form that much more unstable, his mask eventually falling apart in chunks. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He doesn’t stop, though. I don't think he can. Not until it’s complete. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Which, I suppose, is where I come in. </em>
</p><p><b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; Under the glow.</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; Of pale moonlight.</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; And limpid Nether flame.</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; Enclosed in gifts.</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; And FIRE of fright.</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>Skelpie joined the game</em> </b></p><p>
  <em> Tommy jumps as there’s a pop, a crackle, a ping, and suddenly, I appear right next to him, off-balance and looking scared. I blink hard a few times, confused, before seeing Tommy and tilting my head with a smile. I open my arms and cheerfully say, “Tommy!! Hi!!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy takes off running. </em>
</p><p>I make a confused face at my chat, who are all screaming at me in similar confusion. “I -- what the...I was just on Hypixel!! Wait, hold on…” I close out Dream’s stream and pull Minecraft onto the screen, on which I’m standing in the middle of a circle of...perfectly normal torches. Hm. “Dream! What the hell did you just do?”</p><p>
  <em> Dream waves a hand over his mask, restoring it to its former glory before shooting me an exhausted smile. “Mmm...no idea. Wonder what could have happened. Maybe you should ask Tommy.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Is that before or after you tell me how to get out of your awful spawn trap?” I ask dryly, and he chuckles, shrugging. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Mmm...that’s for me to know and for you to find out.” </em>
</p><p><em> I roll my eyes and look around the edges of the badly made wall, looking for anything to step on to get over it...ah, there! I make it over in record time, and Dream follows from behind. Tommy is still in the VC, and we can both hear him muttering about how </em> <em> of course </em> <em> summoning me would include a demonic ritual, about how it all makes sense, and I stifle a laugh. </em></p><p>
  <em> “Tommy, I heard from an anonymous source that you were the one that wanted me to come in here. So...thanks?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Who the hell told you -- no, you know what, yeah, I did want you to come, but I also didn’t want to summon you like a --” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Tommy is just a little annoyed that I told you about his requests or whatever. Right, Tommy?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy does not respond, and I giggle. “Dream, don’t tease him, you’ll shatter his fragile masculinity.” </em>
</p><p><em> “My masculinity is </em> <em> not </em> <em> fragile, Skelpie!” </em></p><p>
  <em> “Yes, of course. Sorry.” I say through sniggers, rolling my eyes as I make my way through the forest. </em>
</p><p><em> Dream stops suddenly. “Ah, uh, you know what?” He says tilting his head and jutting this thumb in the opposite direction. “I just realized that I need to, uhm, clean up. Spawn! And plus, Tommy promised you a tour of L’Manchildberg, so I don’t wanna interrupt </em> <em> that </em> <em> .” </em></p><p>
  <em> “What are you talking about, I never promised...hey! It’s L’Manburg, you douchebag, you can’t just add extra words in the middle --” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Yep, that’s what I said, L’Manchildberg!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Why, you --” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Alright, bye!” and he takes off running in the other direction, leaving the call. I blink a couple of times and shrug, walking through the forest for a little while more before reaching where Tommy is standing -- a delightful little wooden path. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I tilt my head to the side and ask, “...well? Dooo I get a tour?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy glares at me, sighs, and starts to walk, making a ‘follow me’ gesture. “Yeah, sure, why not.” </em>
</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>The tour overall went nicely...if by ‘nicely’ I mean it was 4% a tour and 96% yelling and insulting each other. But there wasn’t really any other expectation -- Tommy, the resident Aries and Skelpie, the drama queen of the century alone in a VC together on stream...yeah.</p><p>It was to be expected.</p><p>Suddenly, Tommy turns to me, right outside of the walls of L’Manburg. Which, may I add, Eret did a wonderful job on. It’s really intimidating while at the same time being beautiful. I’ll probably check it out with a shader on some other time, that’d be killer.</p><p>Anyways, Tommy suddenly turns to me and says, “Skelpie, you’re familiar with the history of this place, right?” I make a noise of confirmation, and Tommy looks out into the distance. “You know that we’re going to have a war soon, right? You’re going to join L’Manburg’s side...right?”</p><p>I let out a miniature ‘aww,’ grimacing right after. I would love to ease his concerns, but...I need to make this dramatic. I also need to make it seem as if I <em> haven’t </em> been considering this for the past several weeks.</p><p>“It’s a hard decision, really. On one hand, I’m closest with you and Nova, who are both on L’Manburg’s side --”</p><p>“Wh -- Skelpie, Nova isn’t even on the server.”</p><p>“You really think Nova <em> wouldn’t </em> be on your side if she <em> was? </em> You’re sorely mistaken. She talks about it all the time, even though she literally wouldn’t be allowed in because she’s a woman.”</p><p>“Well, I mean, we could make an --”</p><p>“And on the other hand!” I interrupt him, smiling slightly. “I’ve got the easily more powerful side who <em> won’t </em> kick me out for being a girl. It’s a very hard decision to make, Tommy.”</p><p>“Easily more powerful?!”</p><p>“Tommy, not to sound like a simp, but it is <em> literally </em> the <em> Dream </em> SMP,” I say through laughs. “Dream is scarier than you and Wilbur. Sorry.”</p><p>“You know what, screw you, you do sound like a simp, you sound like Technoblade after that one MCC, ‘oh Dream, oh Dream!’” He says the last bit in a high-pitched, falsetto voice, and I laugh. “‘Oh Dream, do your shoes need shining?? Do you need a coffee?? Oh, Dream, I think you’re sooo amazing and talented for killing GeorgeNotFound in your YouTube videos!’ That’s what you sound like, Skelpie, and it is sickening.”</p><p>I shrug. “Didn’t deny what I said.”</p><p>Silence for a moment, and I tilt my head at chat with raised eyebrows, like, ‘I told you so.’ “You know what, I’ll have my decision out by the end of the week, okay?”</p><p>“Skelpie, it’s Wednesday, the end of the week is like months away in Twitch streaming time.”</p><p>“It’s literally in two days, what the hell are you going on about?”</p><p>“The war is on Saturday!”</p><p>“<em>Fine </em>, tomorrow. I’ll say it on stream tomorrow, okay?” I roll my eyes and take a glance at my chat, which is just yelling different sides -- most of them are telling me to join L’Manburg, which is understandable. Some are saying to just be neutral, which doesn’t sound like the worst idea. “Hey...Tommy, how would you feel if I was just a neutral party?”</p><p>“Oh, Skelpie, don’t do that, that’s not going to get you any viewers.” We both let out loud laughs, and I put my face in my hands and shake it. Of course. “No, but seriously, neutral just means Dream SMP, since he technically owns everything except for L’Manburg.”</p><p>“He still owns L’Manburg,” I point out. “You haven’t won the war yet.”</p><p>“Yeah, well, we’re going to, I’m sure.”</p><p>I tut, shaking my head. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Tommy.”</p><p>“That’s just a stupid saying for people who don’t believe in themselves like I do.”</p><p>I shrug, crossing my arms and turning to the side, sorting through my inventory before gasping. “Tommy, I should build a <em> house.” </em></p><p>There’s a confused silence before he responds, “Well, of course you should build a house -- where are you going to build it, though? You haven’t picked a side yet.”</p><p>“Well….” I tilt my head from side to side. “I mean, Tommy, would you immediately hate me if I did pick Dream’s side?”</p><p>“Mmm…” He trails off, perhaps considering all of the factors, because answering indecisively, “I’d give it a hard <em> maybe.” </em></p><p>I gasp exaggeratedly, punching him in-game. “Tommy!”</p><p>“Okay, okay, fine, <em> no, </em> probably not. I’d be pissed, though, and Wilbur would probably hate you.” He mutters the end, and I punch him again.</p><p>“Wilbur could never hate me.”</p><p>“Wh -- you barely even know Wilbur!”</p><p>“Nah, Wilbur and I are best friends. Closer than you and I have ever slash will ever be.”</p><p>“Sorry, what’s that about me?”</p><p>I startle, almost jumping out of my seat as Wilbur’s voice fills my headset. I straighten up, coughing slightly as my ghat makes fun of me. "Hi Wilbur, we were just discussing the close bond as friends that I share with you." I cross my fingers under my desk, praying that Wilbur goes along with it. Any opportunity to mess with Tommy is a good opportunity. "You know, since we've known each other for so long."</p><p>I can almost hear the confusion seeping from the silence on Wilbhr's end, before he pipes up and says, "Oh, yeah, Tommy, did I never tell you about this? I've known (Y/N) since we were in like, primary school."</p><p>"Wait, she was being serious?!" Tommy exclaims, and I stifle a giggle.</p><p>"Well, yeah, <em> duh</em>.” I say rudely. “Why would I joke about that, Tommy, that’s just disgraceful.”</p><p>I can see my chat freaking out, and I write and copy and paste a message like eight times in the chat.</p><p><em> <strong>skelpie</strong>: NO I DON’T ACTUALLY KNOW WILBUR </em> <em><br/></em> <em> <strong>skelpie</strong>: NO I DON’T ACTUALLY KNOW WILBUR </em> <em><br/></em> <em> <strong>skelpie</strong>: NO I DON’T ACTUALLY KNOW WILBUR </em> <em><br/></em> <strong> <em>staedtler</em> </strong> <em> : got dam you almost got me there sis </em> <em><br/></em> <em> ethylwipesss: jfc skelpie you SCARED ME </em> <em><br/></em> <em> androooh: haha, gottem. </em></p><p>I continue, saying, “Our friendship is inexorable.”</p><p>“Cloying.”</p><p>“Uncompromising.”</p><p>“Uh...hermetic.”</p><p>I snort, but continue. “Resolute.”</p><p>“Obdurate…?”</p><p>“It is an aberrant friendship, between an American and a Brit.” I stroke my chin, looking into the distance. “I used to live in Britain, y’know. It’s why I can do such a perfect accent.”</p><p><em> <strong>skelpie</strong>: NO I DIDN’T I’M JUST gOOD AT DOING A BRITISH ACCENT </em> <em><br/></em> <em> <strong>skelpie</strong>: NO I DIDN’T I’M JUST gOOD AT DOING A BRITISH ACCENT </em> <em><br/></em> <em> <strong>skelpie</strong>: NO I DIDN’T I’M JUST gOOD AT DOING A BRITISH ACCENT </em></p><p>“Wilbur, I…” Tommy trails off, sounding incredibly confused. “I didn’t know you knew so many big words, Jesus Christ.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Tommy, he used all of them wrong. Except <em> maybe </em> the first one? Depends on what he was going for.” I shrug, smiling slightly as Wilbur groans from behind the screen.</p><p>“I wasn’t expecting you to <em> continue </em> using big words,” Wilbur almost whines. “I write songs, not books.”</p><p>"They’re useful to know when you’re writing,” I quip, starting to run a little ways off from L’Manburg. “And useful to know when you’re trying to confuse small children -- right, Tommy?”</p><p>I ignore Tommy’s splutters of protest, walking around L’Manburg to find a good place to stick a house before settling on an area to the left of where Tommy’s house is. I hum slightly and nod my head. “Yeah, I think I’ll build it here.” I wait for Tommy to catch up to me, not doing much beside thinking up ideas for what it should look like.</p><p>“Wh -- you can’t build it in L’Manburg, (Y/N)!” He exclaims, and I do nothing but laugh behind my hand. “And why does it have to be next to my house?!”</p><p>“Well, it <em> isn’t </em> in L’Manburg.” I say slyly. “You’ve said it yourself -- or at least, Wilbur has -- this is some weird middle ground that’s kind of on the Dream SMP but also not.” I gesture at the area. “This is perfect, right? That’s basically where I am now.”</p><p>“Wh -- when did I say that?” Tommy asks, slightly confused. “Chat, did I ever say that?”</p><p>“No, no, Wilbur said it, you confirmed it with your hesitance.” I say, walking up to the area. I grabbed some wood whilst running through the forest at the start, so I make a crafting table, planks, some sticks, and stick down a sign. “I watch Wilbur’s streams religiously, I saw it happen. It was literally earlier today, Tommy. Do you really not remember?”</p><p>“No, I don’t f-----g remember this, it didn’t happen, did it?” A pause. “...did it? Wilbur, did it?”</p><p>“He’s gone on mute, Tommy, just wait a second.”</p><p>“Fine, what are you even doing?”</p><p>I stay silent as I write on the sign I placed next to the crafting table before backing up.</p><p><em> Skelpie’s future house area. </em> <em><br/></em> <em> (Please read book in chest.) </em></p><p>“What book are you talking about? Where did you even get a book?” I ignore him. I make a chest, then pull out a book from my inventory and start to write in it.</p><p>“Skelpie, where the hell did you get a book from, you joined like thirty minutes ago.”</p><p>“Mmm...we went on a tour, I went into people’s houses, I went into people’s chests…” I tilt my head from side to side. “I was partially just checking out the stuff they had...aaand partially looking for a book. Which I found.”</p><p>“Wh -- so you just stole it?!”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m a dirty crime girl, what did you expect.” I chuckle as my chat starts to use Wilbur’s crime emote. “Oookay, here, perfect. Here, Tommy, proofread this for me.”</p><p>I toss the book at him, but before he can catch it, I snatch it back with a loud, “Wait!!”</p><p>“Wh -- what is it??”</p><p>“I need you to break that sign.” I hit the sign I put down and stand to the side. “Just break it, please and thank you.”</p><p>“W...hy? That’s incredibly sus, (Y/N), if you understand me.”</p><p>I can hear Wilbur start to laugh quietly. I think he <em> might </em> be watching my stream, which means that he <em> probably </em> saw what I just wrote in the book. No matter. “It’s for a joke, Tommy, a funny bit. Just break the sign and then you can read the book.”</p><p>“Oookay?” He breaks the sign and picks it up, and I throw him the book for him to start reading.</p><p>Tommy clears his throat, and I lean back in my chair with a smile. “As it was stated under Section 26.7, subsection 3 of the General Lawbook, if anyone makes any attempt to, or successfully, destroys any part of this household, or any item on this now claimed property, including, but not limited to, signs, bricks, torches, windows, or carpets, they will be obligated under law to compensate the owner of this household (yours truly) with any and all Netherite items owned at the time of the crime upon request. Subsection 4 states that if you are not in possession of any Netherite items, or if the owner of the destroyed property wishes to enact some form of mercy, then any and all Diamond items will be under the same circumstance.” Tommy looks up from the book at me, and I can just imagine his confused face. Wilbur sounds like he’s having a heart attack from laughter in the background before muting again, and I’m trying to hold in my own giggles. “I just had a stroke trying to read that, I just lost thousands upon thousands of my valuable IQ points because of that, Skelpie, do you know that?”</p><p>“Shhh...I don’t care. You weren’t using them anyways.”</p><p>“Hey --!”</p><p>“Anyways, did you get any of that? Did you understand it or was it in one ear and out the other?”</p><p>“I didn’t understand a word.”</p><p>I let out a loud laugh at the same time as he does. “There’s another page, Tommy.”</p><p>Tommy opens the book back up, and I can hear the clicking as he makes it to the last page. “TSB;DR (Too Small-Brain; Didn’t Read): If you break my house, you give me your good s--t when I ask for it, capiche? Approved by Dream.”</p><p>He tosses back the book (which I immediately sign) as the gears turn in his head.</p><p>And I can almost see the lightbulb appear over his head, and I can almost hear it immediately explode.</p><p>“Wait -- no, I only broke the sign because you f-----g told me to, don’t you f-----g dare try to trick me like that --!”</p><p>“I’m sorry Tommy, the law’s the law, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here.”</p><p>“You just joined the server!! There is no law, d--khead!”</p><p>“Well, no, there is a law, you just read it out.”</p><p>“I dunno, Tommy, it sure sounds like there’s a law.”</p><p>“Shut up Wilbur -- okay, well, I didn’t <em> know </em> about it, doesn’t that at least give me something??”</p><p>I shake my head with a frown. “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”</p><p>Tommy practically lets out a growl of frustration, which makes Wilbur and I crack up. “Look! I didn’t see any proof that this was approved by Dream, so I don’t have to do <em> anything! </em> It definitely -- it probably wasn’t even approved by him, was it?!”</p><p>“Hmm...well. Not yet.”</p><p>“HA, so I don’t --”</p><p>“But it will be. Give me a second…”</p><p>I leave the voice chat and join the empty one Dream is in. He seems to just be talking to his chat,and I wait for him to pause before saying, “Dream, I need you to do me a really really quick favor!!”</p><p>He startles before laughing. “Oookay…? What is it?”</p><p>“I need you to type the word ‘yes’ in chat on my signal, okay?”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“It’s for a joke, a funny bit, I’m just messing with Tommy. Please, please, please, before he joins the VC and asks what I’m doing.”</p><p>“Sheesh, okay, fine, just tell me when to send it, I’ve already typed it.” Dream sounds almost exasperated by my yelling, but I don’t particularly care. I mute myself and turn to my camera whilst typing, saying, “If this goes off without a hitch, I’ll just have pulled off the greatest hustle in the history of this SMP, probably in the history of the entire Goddamn world.” I chuckle darkly. “This is going to be amazing.”</p><p>I unmute and say, “Okay, when I say ‘send,’ you send it, clear?”</p><p>“Crystal.”</p><p>“Okay...okay…” I finish typing, and say “Send it!!” at the same time as I hit ENTER.</p><p><b> <em>&lt;Skelpie&gt; Do you, Dream, agree to the policy that has been enstated in the book entitled ‘Land Agreements,’ including all sections, subsections, aforementioned agreements, compensation, and generally stated rules?</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; Yes</em> </b></p><p>“Kay, thanks Dream, bye!”</p><p>“Wait --”</p><p>I leave the VC and join the one that Tommy and Wilbur are in. Tommy is yelling, and Wilbur is laughing his ass off, and I can’t help but join him.</p><p>
  <b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; Wait, what???</em> </b>
</p><p>“Skelpie!! What did you do?” Tommy screeches, and I don’t answer him immediately.</p><p>I have to calm myself down first before responding, “Nothing. I just explained the situation, asked him to say yes to the agreement, and he did!”</p><p>“That is <em> not </em> what happened, Skelpie,” Wilbur says in an accusatory tone, still laughing slightly.</p><p>I wag my finger. “Ah, but Wibur, this is why you need to learn the art of phrasing things in a way that benefits you -- that is, in fact, <em> exactly </em> what happened. Now, Tommy,” I clap my hands together. “I’m not asking for much --”</p><p>“Oh God, oh f--k, oh f--k.” Tommy mutters over and over again, almost in disbelief. “I have been cheated, betrayed, tricked…”</p><p>“Look, it’s called a hustle, sweetheart. Now, I genuinely just want. Like.” I count on my fingers. Yeah, maybe I <em> have </em> been playing Minecraft for several years, maybe it <em> is </em> slightly embarrassing that I don’t remember the amount needed for a full set of Diamond off the top of my head -- I don’t particularly care. “Minus four...uh, I want twenty diamonds.”</p><p>I block out Wilbur’s wheezes in the background as Tommy exclaims, “<em> What?! </em> Twenty -- you want <em> twenty diamonds?” </em></p><p>“Great, you’re not deaf! You got it. And I know you have like a stack and a half in your Enderchest, by the way.”</p><p>“How do you know <em> that?!” </em></p><p>“My little brother told me when I was explaining this plan to him.”</p><p>“This was a thought-out plan, are you kidding me? You know what, tell your brother that he’s a d--khead, I can’t believe this.”</p><p>“M’kay. CASEEEYY --” I yell, leaning back, and I hear Tommy and Wilbur start to scream at me not to and laugh, respectively. “TOMMYINNIT SAYS THAT YOU’RE A D--KHEAD!”</p><p>“I KNOOOW!!” I hear him yell from his room. “TELL THE CHILD TO SHUT THE F--K UP!!”</p><p>“YOU’RE THE SAME -- you know what, nevermind. Tommy, he said, quote, “I know, tell the child to shut the f--k up.””</p><p>Tommy breaks into loud laughs as we walk into his house. “Holy s--t, what the hell, does douchebaggery just run in your bloodline, Skelpie?”</p><p>“Did you just imply that my mother and father are douchebags?”</p><p>“Wat! No, I didn’t -- you know what, nevermind.” He opens up the Enderchest and brings out the diamonds, and my eyes almost sparkle as I grin into the camera. “Take your diamonds that you unfairly tricked me out of, I guess.”</p><p>I pick up the diamonds -- there are, in fact, twenty of them -- and put them into my inventory. I split it into two groups, leaving eight in my inventory and throwing the extra twelve back to him. “Here. I don’t want to look like a b---h, and I would also like to work for myself instead of looking lazy. I just want a chestplate to start.”</p><p>Tommy almost sounds surprised as he picks the diamonds back up and throws them back into his chest. “Wait -- really? Because I wouldn’t put the laziness part past you --”</p><p>“You know what, I’ll take it back --”</p><p>“NO, NO, thank you, or, well, you’re welcome, because I technically gave you the stuff here, you just gave it back.” I shake my head. It’s like he’s trying to make me take the diamonds back. Jesus Christ.</p><p>“I’d never try to clean you out like that, Tommy, you’re like a brother to me! I shall cherish these diamonds with my whole being -- I’ll probably name the chestplate after you or something, I dunno.”</p><p>“That sounds really weird if you think about --”</p><p>“Shut.” I cut him off, holding up a hand and closing my eyes. “Shut up.”</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hellooooooo again everyone!! im back, like a week later again!! for now, ill probably just say that my 'updating schedule' is like, once or twice a week. that's fair, right?</p><p>this is REALLY dialogue-heavy so im sorry, buuut i think there will be more action next chapter? maybe? we might be doing the war next chapter who even knows at this point. planning? never heard of her. i do know that more irl things start happening after the war though, so that'll be fun...</p><p>...for a while. :)</p><p>again, this isn't proofread, i can't stand re-reading my writing, so sorry for any! typos!! credit to cherryoh here on archive for the summoning ritual idea!! never would have thought of that myself, but i did stay up until like 12AM last week writing it, so it was really really fun to make!! :D :D</p><p>see y'all later this week/next week!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Sides</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You do some shopping and pick a side.</p><p>CW/TW: Ayo! Important! Mentions of a past abusive relationship!! This is the only mention of it so far but it will become more prevalent later on so I really want you all to know D: please stay safe!!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><b>@skelpie</b>: <b>@tommyinnit</b> Pleasure doing business with you.<br/>
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<b>@tommyinnit</b>: shut up, con artist<br/>
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<b>@WilburSoot</b>: don’t talk to my friend like that D:<br/>
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<b>@tommyinnit</b>: YOU AREN’T EVEN FRIENDS I LOOKED AT YOUR STREAM AFTERWARDS DON’T LIE TO ME<br/>
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<b>@WilburSoot</b>: not yet we aren’t<br/>
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<b>@ohohohoho</b>: oh god oh god wilbur is tweeting this is not a drill NOT A DRILL FOLKS</p><p>|<br/>
<b>@reedsherbible</b>: (y/n) how could you do that to tommy i thought he was your friend<br/>
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<b>@skelpie</b>: all is fair in love and real estate<br/>
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<b>@shootforthescars</b>: love?<br/>
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<b>@reedsherbible</b>: it’s a saying, dips--t.</p><p>|<br/>
<b>@NovaNova</b>: i was away for one day and i miss (Y/N) scamming someone this is so unfair i can’t believe it<br/>
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<b>@skelpie</b>: it was a really good scam too i almost got like 20 diamonds from it<br/>
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<b>@NovaNova</b>: almost??? sis if i know you you couldve gotten a stack probably<br/>
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<b>@skelpie</b>: i had mercy on him</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>Thursday is upon us. Otherwise known as the day when I declare my position on the SMP. The day is mine to waste away until that fateful moment, which basically means that I’m going to do chores and watch Disney+ and maybe clear out my Twitter DMs if I feel like it.</p><p>And I usually never feel like it, so the chances of that happening are slim.</p><p>I exit my household and start to walk towards the nearby Stop&amp;Shop to pick up groceries for my mom, which is only a couple of roads down from my house. The streets are empty, as they usually are in this town, so I’m not particularly paying attention as I stare down at my phone. Scrolling through Twitter, liking all the fanart I see (you know you’ve made it in life when people make fanart of and <em> cosplay </em> you, really), before coming across a specific Tweet that makes me furrow my brow slightly.</p><p><b>@ashestoashley</b>: hey when is Skelpie gonna update her subgoal it’s been like two weeks since she hit the last one :eyes:</p><p>I blink a couple of times before my eyes widen. I totally forgot about that, didn’t I…</p><p>Quickly backing out (and lifting my head to cross the street), I create a new Tweet. For a content creator, I really have next to no ideas for actual content.</p><p><b>@skelpie</b>: what should i do for my next subgoal?? Let’s make it 4200 for now<br/>
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<b>@scrumptioussss</b>: woah 500 more? sis when are u even gonna get 2 doing this?? next year??<br/>
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<b>@skelpie</b>: even my own fans don’t believe that i can do it,,,heart been broke so many times…</p><p>|<br/>
<b>@reedsherbible:</b> (y/n) we’re all on our knees begging please do a fnaf stream<br/>
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<b>@skelpie</b>: <b>@reedsherbible</b> im on my knees begging i would love to but it seriously wouldn’t be good content im not scared i swear<br/>
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<b>@reedsherbible</b>: ...valid…</p><p>|<br/>
<b>@callmecarpaltunnel</b>: cosplay as a mcyt<br/>
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<b>@skelpie</b>: already do that on my tiktok /j</p><p>|<br/>
<b>@alternateffour</b>: collab w/ other streamers!!<br/>
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<b>@skelpie</b>: ...im literally on an smp what do y’all WANT from me<br/>
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<b>@u42934823</b>: irl?<br/>
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<b>@skelpie</b>: ...maybe some day. keep dreaming.<br/>
<br/>
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<b>@_The_Narrator_</b>: What about singing something on stream?<br/>
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<b>@skelpie</b>: no can do, soldier.</p><p>I wrinkle my nose, looking through the other replies of that and wincing. It’s just a plethora of people yelling at them about how much I hate singing, about how uncomfortable I am with it, etc, etc. I feel like I should be able to tell them that on their own, right? And it’s not like I <em> hate </em> singing, it’s just...tied to some unfavorable things.</p><p>I continue looking through Twitter until I reach the supermarket, swiftly running around to buy the few things that my mom had asked for before departing. Now, with a bag slung over my shoulder a solid half-hour later, I pull out my phone once more.</p><p>
  <em> *1 unopened DM from tommyinnit. </em>
</p><p>I shrug, opening up the DM. Yeah, you all thought that I’d start freaking out about it, right? Nope, Tommy is old news, I’ve been talking to him for weeks, there’s nothing about it that startles or even vaguely affects me. 100%.</p><p>And by that, I mean I almost get lightheaded when I see the notification. I’m still only just coming out of the “this is  real life, not an extended daydream fantasyland” phase. It isn’t pretty.</p><p>
  <em> tommyinnit: ive been neaning to ask you about the whole singing thing </em>
</p><p>That’s something I <em> definitely </em> wasn’t prepared for. My grip on the phone tightens, and I bite the corner of my mouth.</p><p><em> tommyinnit: like, i see your fans drekaing out abt it just </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: all the f-----g time </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: not to be rude or antythin, you dont have to ansewe if you dont want to, i mean </em></p><p>I smile slightly, still feeling a bit nervous. Tommy is a lot nicer off-camera -- as  to be expected. That’s the case with most Twitch streamers, or at least, people with incredibly abrasive on-camera personalities.</p><p>I bite the corner of one of my nails, debating on whether I should explain. Nobody really knows about this aside from my family and Nova...and, I suppose, the person it relates to. But Tommy is a close enough friend, right? It’s not like there would be any harm in telling, and perhaps it would help in getting over it.</p><p>I don’t see <em> how </em> , but <em> maybe? </em></p><p><em> skelpie: oh! it’s nothing, really </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: they make it a loooot more dramatic than it actually is, haha </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: i have no problems with singing in like, general, but singing on stream is kind of a freaky experience for me </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: how come? </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: mmm </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: long story short, i had a really arseholey bf like a year ago when i was in highschool, and the mf never wanted me to sing on stream or in public or whatever </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: he’d get all weird about it and it really freaked me out and i guess it just. stuck. y’know? </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: oh s--t </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: ahshsjadjejk sorry for dumping that on you you asked so i just wanted to make it clear that it really isn’t that big of a deal </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: wh </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: who told you that that isn’t a big deal? </em></p><p>I startle as someone honks at me for walking in into the middle of the road without looking. I hold up my hand to indicate ‘sorry’ and sprint across the street, immediately looking back down at my device. I thought...that it wasn’t that much of a problem?</p><p><em> skelpie: ?? </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: if you dont’ mind me aksing what do you mean by ‘getting all weird about it’ </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: y’know </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: yelling, i guess??? a lotta yelling. he p much hollered at me to stop showing off (and i quote) ‘what was his’ </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: jesus f-----g christ </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: nobody’s gonna blame you for not wanting to do it (y/n) </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: im defineitely not the right person to talk to you about this </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: (does anyone else know about this btw?) </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: (aside from eliza my family one online friend one of my twitch mods and you? no) </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: (jesus) </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: but i think now that i know about this, if you ever DO decide to sing on-stream it’s be sick </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: cuz now me, nova, your family, our twitch mod, and that one internet friend know that you got past like </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: a huge f----n’ hurdle in your life </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: and basicaly gave that d--kwad ex of yours the finger </em></p><p>Oh...I definitely wasn’t expecting that. I kind of foresaw him telling me to get over it, since it happened an entire year ago. I don’t particularly know how to feel about this.</p><p><em> skelpie: thanks, tommy :) </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: no problem </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: if you ever do sing on stream try and give him the bird bc i can bet he’d be watching </em><br/>
<em> skelpie: well, it’s not like he would know. he might be in jail idk </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: he might be in what </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: id really rather not talk about it but he was a crazy character, ill just leave it at that. </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: jfc (y/n) your taste in men is awful </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: i know, i only go for people i see on tiktok now </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: oh, god damn it </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> skelpie: one day ill convince you to get tiktok, tommy, and it will be a wonderous day </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> tommyinnit: please, god, no </em></p><p>I laugh out loud, pocketing my phone and trudging up the stairs to enter my house. I drop the bag off in the kitchen and run up to my room, where I find Casey sitting on my computer. I sigh, closing the door behind me and questioning, “Casey, what the hell are you doing on my computer?”</p><p>I was trying to scare him, but he isn’t even fazed. “My computer blue-screened, so I’m using yours. Duh.”</p><p>“How the hell did it blue-screen? That’s like the second time this month! And it’s the sixth!” I jump onto my med, putting opening up my laptop hidden very sneakily under my pillow. I navigate to Twitter, reading the replies on the Tweet I sent out almost an hour ago. I sigh, seeing that most people are asking me to play Five Nights at Freddy’s.</p><p>“I was navigating the deep down dark deep down of the dark web.” Casey responds, deadpan. “Found a website that screamed at me for a while and crashed my computer.”</p><p>“...so you were playing Welcome to the Game?”</p><p>He sighs, turning around to face me and putting one arm over the back of the seat. “Yes. I was playing Welcome to the Game, a website started to scream at me, and my computer crashed.”</p><p>I chuckle slightly, low-key flexing on him just by being in this room. “You need to get a better computer if you ever want to do gaming for real, you know that, right?”</p><p>Casey grabs the back of the chair and leans back, swaying slightly from side to side. “Yeaah...but I don’t want to start early like you. I’ll probably start my channel when I’m like, twenty-one or something.”</p><p>“In five years? What makes you think gaming will still be a viable source of income then? What makes you think YouTube and Twitch won’t be deleted by then??”</p><p>“Ah, see, you’re looking on the negative side!” He adjusts, kneeling on the chair to face me, who basically hasn’t looked up from my laptop the entire conversation. “If YouTube and Twitch are made obsolete by then, then that means that there will be something even bigger and better to replace them! Think about it, better moderation system,” he flings out a hand dramatically and I roll my eyes. “Improved algorithm!” The other hand goes out too. “Appreciation for the content that takes up 15% of their platform --!!”</p><p>“You’re one of those people that thinks that gamers need more rights on Youtube, right? You do realize that Mr. Diamond Minecart, Mr. Middleton, DanTDM was the richest YouTuber at a point, right? And that like, 50% of the richest ‘Tubers are gamers? Sean, Mark, VanossGaming --”</p><p>“Shhhhshshsh…” He holds up his pointer finger to stop me. “Until we get a full gamer moment in YouTube Rewind like we did in ‘17 or ‘16, we are under-represented.”</p><p>I snort. “Uh-huh. Sure. Anyways --” I turn my computer around to him. He leans forward enough that the chair falls over with him in it, and I let out a cackle, not even getting the chance to ask if he’s okay before he pops up from the ground to look at the laptop. “Everyone is telling me to play FNaF.”</p><p>“But you aren’t...<em> scared </em> by FNaF?”</p><p>“I know! That’s what I keep telling them, and nobody listens! And I don’t wanna have a boring stream just to prove them wrong, but I <em> also </em> don’t wanna fake and overreact because that makes me look like a 2014 gamer!” I sigh, flopping backwards onto my pillow. “I’m jammed between a rock and a hard place, Casey. I need your big brain.”</p><p>“Well...I mean. You could play it <em> with </em> someone. Like...I mean, Tommy has played it before, maybe not.” He sits in the swivel chair and starts to wrists back and forth. “Eliza would cry...Tubbo? Maybe?”</p><p>“Well, I mean, Tubbo <em> almost </em> cried.” I point out, wincing slightly. “The poor kid got like, the ‘It’s Me’ Easter egg <em> and </em> the eyeless Bonnie twice on the first night.”</p><p>That was honestly depressing to watch. I laughed my ass off at Tommy, of course, but I almost  yelled at my screen for Tubbo to stop playing because he was getting so upset. But...maybe it’d be funny. I’d do a lot for entertainment purposes. Is mentally torturing a sixteen-year-old past me?</p><p>Not quite.</p><p>“Tommy is still on the table, of course, but maybe you could just play it with Tubbo in the call and watching? Ooh, ooh!” He snaps his fingers, eyes widening. “Maybe you could do the scary manipulating thing and get him to play after you after you “convince him” that it isn’t that hard.”</p><p>I flop over, my head hanging off the side of the bed, my hair dangling in midair. “Casey, I’m not going to manipulate a child into mentally abusing himself.”</p><p>“Look, I’m just saying that the first few nights aren’t even that hard to get down...I mean, what, Tommy got to Night Five in an hour-long stream or something.”</p><p>“But I’m not just gonna spend a stream watching Tubbo play, I’d have to end and then badger him to play it himself.”</p><p>“Yes, not only is it a boost for people to look at <em> you, </em> but it’s also just fun content to watch --”</p><p>I cut him off by throwing a pillow at him, which he gets absolutely wrecked by. Even though I can’t scare him (ever), his in real life reaction time is just awful. “I’m not doing this for the views, Casey!!! I’m doing this ‘cuz sometime in the future I reach the magical number of 4200 subs!!”</p><p>He throws the pillow back at me, which I catch. “4200 subs which you got from having a lotta views, catch up, (Y/N)!!”</p><p>I get up and thwack him in the head with the pillow. He giggles, leaping from the chair and onto my bed faster than I can register, grabbing a pillow and nailing me in the back of the head with it.</p><p>...you can probably guess what this turns into. In a matter of minutes, the room is a little bit of a mess, pillows scattered just about everywhere. I fall face-flat onto my bed, exhausted. I have a gamer bod, what can I say. ((/j))</p><p>“You know what? I’m gonna do it, fine. With Tubbo in VC. And maybe swindle him after to play it.” My voice is muffled in the blankets. “Just because I want to help him get over his fear. For no other reason besides that.”</p><p>I hear Casey laugh from the corner of the room. “Yep, no other reason. ‘Kay, I’m gonna go check on my computer again, seeya, bye!”</p><p>I roll over and open Twitter for the umpteenth time today.</p><p><b>@skelpie</b>: fine, 4.200 subs, FNaF 1 stream. Happy?<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@NovaNova</b>: im goingto have to miss a skelpie stream for the first time in my life, im so sad<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@flashliiit</b>: why??<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@skelpie</b>: oh, you don’t know? eliza has the lowest scare-tolerance of anyone on the planet she’ll piss her pants if bonnie shows up in the door</p><p>|<br/>
<b>@reedsherbible</b>: YESSSSSSSSS<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@skelpie</b>: yesssssssss. one or two genuine scares and the rest just info-dumping about the lore bc i love the franchise, 10/10 content</p><p>|<b><br/>
@madeoftime01</b>: fnaf is dead stfu nobody likes it or you<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@skelpie</b>: bruv you have a homestuck pfp and user don’t talk about dead franchises especially when this one has eleven successful games, a free-roam game coming out later this/next year on the ps4, and the fact that it was started by a man who worked in retail and was about to give up on game (1/2)<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@skelpie</b>: developing altogether? mr cawthon has done more with this ‘dead franchise’ than you ever will if you don’t stop wasting time sending hate comments to people over twitter &lt;3 (2/2)<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@reedsherbible</b>: ooOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@acadih2o</b>: i just witnessed a MURDER<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@flamepalca</b>: AYO YOU DIDN’T NEED TO RUIN THEM LIKE THAAAT</p><p>|<br/>
<b>@tommyinnit</b>: what an awful game 0/10 won’t watch<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@skelpie</b>: i wasn’t expecting you to tbh judging by how you screamed like a baby when you played<br/>
|<br/>
<b>@reedsherbible</b>: why are you so AGGRESSIVE today</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>“Heeeey chat!” I exclaim, switching from the ‘stream starting’ screen to my facecam. I have a large smile plastered onto my face, friendly as always, but with a bit of cunning simmering behind. I’m going to make a <em> lot </em> of people angry today, but it’s all in good nature. And by that, I mean it’s <em> completely </em> in my own best interest. Oh well.</p><p>“How are you all today? I’m just gonna start it up right now, we have a big announcement to be made! If you guys didn’t see the tweet, I’m going to be saying who’s side I’m on and who I’ll be fighting with! I’ve already told the leader of the party and everything, so it’s not like your yelling is going to change anything.” I chuckle at my chat, who’s still yelling different sides. Futile!</p><p>It is true, I’ve sent out a flurry of Discord DMs to various people today, most of which are focused on planning for Saturday. A streamer’s work is never over, even if I thought I could just relax and piss around for the entire day earlier. But apparently, I get no time to rest for what I have to do tomorrow. Sad.</p><p>I log onto the server, pressing tab to see who’s online -- Wilbur (streaming), Tubbo (streaming), Tommy (streaming), Dream (when does Dream ever stream? Nope), and Punz (again, when does he ever stream). “Sheesh, today is busy. And...my inventory is still full from yesterday. Whoops.”</p><p>My inventory is filled to the brim with quartz, blackstone, and blue wood, mostly focused on the latter two because I almost broke a diamond pick trying to get a bunch of quartz. I decided not to use the diamonds for a chestplate and instead made an axe and a pick, leaving two left over. Yesterday was basically just collecting things -- I’m planning on making my house today. I’m not sleeping until I get done everything I need to get done.</p><p>And first on that list just happens to be announcing my position in the upcoming revolutionary war.</p><p>
  <em> &lt;tommyinnit&gt; skelpie vc now now now </em>
</p><p>I chuckle slightly, putting all of my items into a chest that I buried underground where my house is supposed to be and asking chat, “Should I join VC with everyone?”</p><p>The question is purely rhetorical, of course, since I already know the answer that they’ll give me. I navigate Discord, almost wincing at the fact that basically everyone online is in the call. Punz is muted, though, so that’s a little pressure off. Great.</p><p>I join, and the first thing I hear is Tommy yelling. “HIII, SKELPIE.” I immediately know by this reaction that they were probably talking about me. I stifle a laugh.</p><p>“Hey Tommy and everyone else. What’s up?”</p><p>“Nothing at all, nothing at all, just some, uh, uhm…”</p><p>“Diplomatic discussions?” Wilbur offers.</p><p>I almost snort. Yeah, right. “Sure. Where is everyone, by the way?”</p><p>“We’re by Punz’s tower, Skelpie.” Dream says between slight laughs. I start heading there, and I find them all in a few minutes. They’re standing, of course, separated into their little groups -- Punz and Dream to one side, in front of the tower, Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo standing a little bit away.</p><p>I stand directly in the center.</p><p>
  <em> I glance slightly upwards, looking at the dark clouds rolling in. Though it is still midday, the sky has already begun to darken from the oncoming thunderstorm. The wind picks up, and my dark, tattered cape flutters behind me, wishing to detach from my shoulders. I pull it closer around me, looking at my friends. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I look at my allies. For once, there’s a difference. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy, looking uncomfortable, wrings his hands in front of him, saying, “Okay, Skelpie, you said yesterday that you were going to tell everyone your position in the war, right?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I nod slightly, feeling unsettled myself. “I did.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “So….?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I take a deep breath, straightening and pulling my cape even tighter around my shoulders. “So, this took a while to think about. It really was a hard decision, and I do feel just a little bit bad about it. I had to factor in my own best interest, my prior relationships with people, the amount of clout that I’d get --” I’m cut off by several scattered laughs, and I nervously chuckle. “So, it definitely wasn’t an easy choice, but…” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I glance at Tommy, who looks at me expectantly, and my heart twists. Only for a moment. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I look down, and slowly take my stance next to Punz and Dream. I look across the grassy area at Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo, all three of which have some sort of betrayed look on their face. Tommy looks almost enraged, Wilbur won't even look at me, and Tubbo looks confused. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Wait -- what?" He says, his head whipping towards Tommy. I have to block out Dream's laughs in the background. "Tommy, I thought you said that she would…?" </em>
</p><p><em> "Yeah, I </em> <em> thought </em> <em> she was going to, too!" He yells, and my eyes widen. </em></p><p><em> "I -- look, I just don't want to die, Tommy! This team clearly is better equipped for any sort of battle at all, your </em> <em> general </em> <em> --" I fling my arm out towards Wilbur. "Has stated on multiple occasions that he's awful at fighting! And you think you can win a war against the founding country of this server?!" </em></p><p>
  <em> "Well maybe we think we can negotiate out of this like civilized f-----g people, huh!" Tommy yells at me, taking a step closer. I advance also. "Maybe we don't have to always fight our way out of situations!" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "Yeah, like how I 'fought' you out of eight diamonds yesterday? I'm not saying that negotiating is an invalid method, I'm just saying it doesn't belong in the middle of an ongoing argument!" Tommy steps even closer and so do I, and in a moment, we're just about face to face. "There's a time and a place for talking, and right now, we need to settle this with our fists." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> "I'll show you settling things with our fists --" Tommy mutters, and before I know it, his hand has flung out and decked me in the nose. I stumble backwards, holding my hand up to the pained area and looking at it -- blood. I filter out the background noise -- Wilbur telling Tommy to stop, Tubbo nervously saying that we should go our separate ways now, and Dream making general threats if Tommy does that again -- and look up at the boy. He doesn't look like he regrets it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I'll show him. </em>
</p><p><em> In a flash of white, the axe I made (with </em> <em> his </em> <em> diamonds -- ironic) and named yesterday is in my hands, and I waste no time in retaliating, swinging it so the flat side hits him in the shoulder painfully. He releases a yell of outrage and manifests his own sword, and in less than an instant, we're engaged in a battle. </em></p><p><em> I’m definitely not the greatest fighter, but I </em> <em> do </em> <em> know how to use an axe in combat. I’ve had my practice. </em></p><p>I mute.</p><p>“Just because I’m bad at Bedwars doesn’t mean I’m bad at PVP in general, chat. There are a lot of factors in Bedwars that just make it an awful game in general, so shut the f--k up. You all know that I’m decent at PVP!!!”</p><p>I unmute. Jesus.</p><p>
  <em> Anyways, the battle goes on for a couple of minutes, with everyone else just standing and watching. I push through the pain of the multitude of cuts around my body, caused quite obviously by Tommy’s sword. I believe that I’ve done far more damage to him, though, as he seems to be retreating more than advancing. </em>
</p><p><em> I hold my axe towards him dramatically. “You know what, you’re about to lose to someone that joined the server </em> <em> yesterday </em> <em> , Tommy. This is why I joined Dream’s side.” I tilt my head to the side, smiling slightly, but there’s no joy behind it. “I’ll have fun crushing you tomorrow, Tommy.” </em></p><p>
  <b> <em>tommyinnit was slain by Skelpie using [swindled]</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> I put my axe away as Tubbo exclaims, yelling, “Wh -- Skelpie, Jesus Christ! I don’t even know what to say to that -- Wilbur, what do we…?” </em>
</p><p><em> Wilbur, who stands at the edge of the hill, turns around and looks me in the eyes, his expression mixed with hurt and a little bit of something else. I stay stony-eyed, not revealing anything but slight smugness after killing Tommy. Not that it was easy, I realize, pulling out pork chops I collected from yesterday’s Nether expedition to boost my hearts. The kid was... </em> <em> really </em> <em> angry. </em></p><p>“Tubbo, Wilbur, join VC 4.” I hear him say, and that’s that. I roll my eyes and start to walk away.</p><p>“What a drama kind. He’s just salty because he knows he’s gonna lose.” I say, shrugging.</p><p>“Skelpie, I thought you were like, <em> bad </em>at PVP.” Dream says through chuckles, but I’m having none of it, running up to him and punching him.</p><p>“I am not! Bad! At PVP! My chat always <em> says </em> I’m bad at PVP because I’m bad at Bedwars, but <em> Bedwars </em> isn’t <em> straight PVP!! </em> There are a lot of other factors involved, like being in the middle of the freakin’ sky!” I press my hands against my face exasperatedly, and Dream just laughs at me. “Yeah, that’s right, I don’t lose Bedwars because I get killed, I lose Bedwars because my fighting style includes moving around a lot, which you can’t freakin’ do on a line of freakin’ wool in the middle of the freakin’ SKY!!”</p><p>I glance at my chat and just turn off my second monitor. They’re all spamming either ‘baby rage’ or ‘#BadatPVP.’ I swear, some days I want to fight all of them. Every single one of them. Then we’ll see who’s bad at PVP.</p><p>I sigh. “Okay, Dream, Punz, I’ll talk to you later, I have some things I need to do today. I’ll DM y’all on Discord. Byyye!” I leave the VC, rolling my eyes. “Okay, well, now that that announcement is over -- wait, hold on.”</p><p>I frown and pick up my phone, which is vibrating continuously on my desk, eyes widening. My Twitter, Discord, and Instagram DMs are blowing up, and I can’t help but laugh. “Stop DMing me, holy s--t guys! Are you that angry about this? Is that why you’re all cyberbullying me??” I put my phone on mute, pressing ‘Clear All’ on my notifications. “Yeah, I’ll look at those...later. Anyways, today I’m going to be actually building my house. Most of it. The top part.”</p><p>I run to the place where my claimed land is, taking out the impressive amounts of blackstone and filling up my inventory with it, walking straight into Tommy’s house to steal some coal. “You all know that I can’t just have a normal house, I need to be extra. This is going underground, and it’s gonna be awesome.”</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>GOOD PACING IS THE WORST THING THE BRAIN CRAVES I SWEAR</p><p>IT'S SO HARD</p><p>Ahem. Anyways.</p><p>Filler chapter, next chapter will also be a filler chapter, but it'll be fun! *jazz hands* The war comes after! And also, in case you didn't see the comments, I'm gonna be posting a spooky Among Us Hide 'n' Seek chapter on Halloween, so look for that! It's gonna be long, and it's gonna be spoopy. &gt;:D</p><p>Thank you for reading!!!!</p><p>(hey here's a message for you ao3ers -- i freakin' hate wattpad's formatting software i jUST WANT TO CENTER THE TOP PART NOT THE ENTIRE FIC AAAAAAAAHHHH)</p><p>EDIT: AAAAAYEEEE Y'ALL SAID 'you wanna see some real speed' THANK YOU FOR THE 300 KUDOS AND 2800 HITS Y'ALL ARE WILDIN'</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Q&A</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You answer some questions and start to move forward.</p><p>CW/TW: Something akin to a panic attack, I suppose? Very short and not very descriptive.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>
    <b>.•☆•.</b>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, chat! Today is a fun, chill, extremely boring Q&amp;A stream. I’m stealing wool from someone, I’m finding diamonds, and I’m getting Netherite. Not in that order, of course, but we’ll be working!” I lean on my hand and wait for chat to pick up, scanning the few messages I can catch. “So, okay, you guys are going to yell at me for saying this, but I did a bit of mining off-camera…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I log into the server and open up my inventory, starting to laugh slightly. There are instance amounts of cobblestone and coal and diorite and granite, but more importantly, there are two stacks -- two stacks!! -- and some change of iron, and thirty -- </span>
  <em>
    <span>thirty</span>
  </em>
  <span> -- diamonds. “Just a little.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>stapleartchild: there’s no way</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>jamiewastaken: OMG WHAT</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>thefitnessgrampacertestis: :PogChamp: :PogChamp:</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘You were /given that’ -- okay, no, I wasn’t!” I hold a shaky finger up to the camera, shaking my head. “I had a plan -- Eliza and Stae, I know you’re in chat, please don’t kill me. I went to bed at 8PM last night…” I trail off, starting to run back towards my house.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>familyunfriendly: sis i thought you had insomnia</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>staedtler: no way, really?? pogchamp!!</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>NovaNova: YESSS you got SLEEEEEEP</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>fionanotfound: 8pm r u 6 tf</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but, um...I told my little brother, Casey -- have I mentioned him on stream? By name? Holy s--t, I don’t think I have...well, whatever. I told Casey to wake me up at exactly 12AM, and, I mean, I haven’t left the server yet.” I smile, then frown. “Wait, no, I just logged off to start stream. That’s it!” I smile again, grimacing slightly to prepare for…</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>icantbelieveitsnotbutter: oh...skelpie, no</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>bananamanna: D:</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>rosyrosaline: LMAOOOOO MOOD</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>staedtler: if you don’t end stream rn im ending it for you (y/n) don’t test me</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>pleaseletmegototwitchcon: omfg youre crazy</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>NovaNova: you did WHAT?!</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>NovaNova: i cannot BELIEVEY OU (Y?N) AISDNNASFDCJ KSDJIFNEAJFJ</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah...so, y’know, didn’t /give. Anyways, um, let’s go! I’m gonna put this stuff away, and then we’re gonna go back down, ‘cuz I found this huge mineshaft and I’ve been digging around that...but y’all don’t care about that, this isn’t a Let’s Play Minecraft, gimmie questions for me to answer!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Why did you choose to join Dream’s side?’ Hey, look, I know America successfully did this, but that was irl and there were actually things at stake. This is Minecraft, and Dream can click better than both Wilbur and Tommy </span>
  <em>
    <span>combined.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Just -- just look at their army, chat: Wilbur, old, brittle, just </span>
  <em>
    <span>awful</span>
  </em>
  <span> at PVP. Tommy, a literal child, anger issues, not the best at PVP. Tubbo, another child, but he might actually be the best person on the team, he scares me. Fundy, a furry. C’mon, this is a band of merry losers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Hi Skelpie, I just wanted to say that you’ve done so much for me and so many other people, so I just wanted to say thanks’ -- oh my gosh, nonono, thank you!! You all mean the world to me! ‘’I do have a question, what does Skelpie mean?’ Okay, a lot of you ask this -- guys, it’s just a simple Google search. A ‘skelpie’ is an old English word for a disobedient child, usually one in need of harsh reprimanding.” I shrug, shutting up for a moment to take care of the sudden flurry of mobs that came at me from nowhere. “Mmm...it worked better when I started streaming ‘cuz I was sixteen, but I still have time before I’m not a teenager. Plus, I also intended it to include ‘kelpie,’ which are magic water horses that kill people! And a breed of dog, hehe. It’s why my persona thingy has wet hair all the time, duh-doy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Who’s your favorite person on the server?’ Uhh...me.” I giggle, mining into a wall randomly like I did earlier today. Chances are I’m bound to find diamonds after a while. And for what I’m planning, I’m going to need a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> of diamonds. “No, seriously though, I’d have to go with Tommy? Aside from not really knowing anyone else all too well, we really have grown close over the past month. He’s literally the reason I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span> the server, chat. So yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before I can properly register what’s going on, my chat is just filled with ‘AWW’s. The only way it could’ve possibly been worse is if I had mentioned Tubbo in any way, shape, or form. Jesus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chat, shut up and give me more questions, I need content. Make it a lightning round, even though we just started, go go go!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I watch chat start to pick up, and I yell out all of the questions I catch. “‘Give us a moving update,’ I’m moving in with Eliza in a month! ‘Are you dating anyone,’ not anymore! ‘Do you have TikTok,’ yes! .skelpie. on there! ‘Moving out at eighteen,’ I know, I’m just that epic! ‘Do you read --’ what? ‘Do you read fanfictions of yourself,’ yes! And I’ll leave it at that. ‘Favorite song,’ currently it’s Tonight You Belong to Me, I’m even more old-school than Tommy. ‘Are you going to play Among us again,’ yes, in a few days!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I continue with this until the next dono comes in, letting it play aloud as I take a sip of water. “Do you have a crush on tommy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I spit out my water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I wipe my face and scowl slightly, shaking my head in disappointment and using my sleeve to wipe my table. “Okay, before I start to lecture you, I’ll answer the question -- no. Anyways, I really want you guys to keep mind that we’ve got a fair amount of minors on this server -- Tommy, Tubbo, Purpled and Nova are all :sparkles:children:sparkles:.” I do jazz hands on the last word for emphasis. “Tubbo and Purpled said they’re uncomfortable with shipping. Tommy says he doesn’t care, and Eliza </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> doesn’t care. If you’re willing to go out of your way to create content for the content creators, then respect their boundaries. Please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I continue to walk around the mineshaft. “That’s number one. Number two -- I’m eighteen, guys!! It’s not the weirdest, since I just turned like a couple of months ago, but God damn that’s still a little weirdchamp. Refrain.” I hum in silence for a moment before realizing that I should probably clarify something. “By the way, I’m comfortable with basically everything -- shipping, fics, whatever, just keep me out of NSFW stuff. Again, I’m barely eighteen, don’t be a freak.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I answer a few more questions, finding a ravine and starting to completely ruin it. “‘Do you have any more streamer friends?’ Aside from Eliza and Tommy? Ummm...I mean, Stae used to stream, but they stopped, so they don’t count...I’m close with Alex!” I giggle as chat picks up slightly at the mention of the old friend. “Only OGs will remember when Alex used to pop in here from time to time. But y’know, he’s a lot busier now!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I hum a song under my breath, catching a relevant question. “‘Who the f--k is Alex?’ Quackity! He’s a big ol’ streamer now, I’m sure you’ve heard of him. Millions of views on the ‘Tubes, he’s a big man now. We support.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I continue to hum, trying to clear out the area as well as possible before starting to mine down. I take a glance at my chat and roll my eyes. “Chat, you don’t catJAM to me humming, that’s not how that -- nevermind.” I sigh. When do Twitch chats ever listen to the people they’re watching? Eventually, it just fills up with the name of one song, and I chuckle. “Yes, I’m humming Heather, no, I’m not pining over someone taken -- chat, kist because I’m humming a song about it doesn’t mean I’m feeling that way. It’s not like every time I listen to, like, Pumped Up Kicks…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I trail off and laugh. Yeah...that’s a healthy sense of humor. “Anyways, I’m glad we all have the same music tastes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>reedsherbible: only OGs will remember when you used to sing on stream all the time</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I used to sing a lot, didn’t I? Sheesh. That was probably cringy as hell, huh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you actually going to do a FNaF stream or were you joking on Twitter?” I make a face at the donation, confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I wasn’t joking...I’m going to do it because you all asked, but I’m also kind of planning to do it with someone else in the call...look, I’m not like Alex or Tommy or Tubbo or whatever, I literally don’t get scared at it anymore! I know how to play, so I know when I’ve f----d up enough that the round will end in a jumpscare. Well..” I tilt my head from side to side. “With FNaF two through Sister Location, at least. One and six incorporate more RNG, so hey, maybe there will be some scares in there. We’ll see.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I continue collecting resources and talking to chat until a donation comes in. “Do you play any instruments?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>My gaze flicks outside of the range of the camera, and I nod slowly. “Y...es. I play the ukulele. Er, I mean, yeah, I know how to play it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I bite the corner of my mouth, frowning slightly at the screen. Anyone can see the way that I stopped mining for a moment. "I...used to play the ukulele on stream, too. Right? Wonder what happened to that..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I blink a few times, the suddenly solemn and almost confused look on my face quite obviously concerning some people in chat. I mine in silence, glancing to the side. The ukulele in question sits in the corner, unseen by anyone who doesn't live with me or hasn't been watching my streams since early last year. I look back at the camera and mutter, "What the f--k am I doing...? Chat, what if --" I cut myself off, shaking my head and smiling slightly. This is crazy. This is probably going to bring back some awful memories that I haven't thought of in months. This is going to end up with all of the people that have watched me ever wondering if I've lost my marbles, because I sure look like it right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I don't care. "Y'know, chat. I've never really gone into why I don't sing on stream anymore, and I'm not going to now. It's because of something that happened to me a while back, a year ago, that I still haven't completely gotten over. But I want to.” I shake my head, biting the corner of my mouth. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to, and if flaunting my voice in front of thousands of people is what's going to do it, then dammit --"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I jump (kind of) from my chair and grab the ukulele from the corner, dropping back into the rolling chair with a grin. I probably look insane. Chat probably thinks this is a bit in which I act like a madwoman, but I don't care. For some reason, I just don't care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Give me a song request."</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>NovaNova: no f-----g way.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>name: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>name: POGU</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>name: oH MY GOD UTS HAPPENING EVERYONE ITS HAPPENING</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>name: skelpie are you okay? Like fr?</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>name: dont push yourself ♡♡</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>staedtler: oh my God</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>TommyInnit: WAIT WAIT VC VC VC</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>TommyInnit: WAIT WAIT VC VC VC</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>TommyInnit: WAIT WAIT VC VC VC</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, s--t, Tommy wants to VC. Okay. One sec…" I ring up Tommy on Discord, which he answers nigh instantaneously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"(Y/N), are you 100% sure you want to do this?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>My grip on the uke tightens and I roll my eyes in an attempt to look natural. "Hey Tommy, I'm fine, thanks for asking." I sigh and shake my head. Children these days. "Anyways, yeah, I'm pretty sure. I'm sleep-deprived, so that might be adding an unstable element to it, but it's fine! What should I sing?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>God, that sounds weird. It really has been a while, hasn't it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, do one that you already know -- do your favorite song, that really old boomer one that you mentioned earlier, how about that?" I laugh aloud at him calling me a boomer, but he's clearly taken off a less aggressive demeanor at this moment. Whilst it really is kind of him...it's ridiculous that I even need it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>(Ridiculous? It's pathetic. Being babied by a sixteen-year-old.)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>I laugh nervously. "Y-Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I actually do know it on the uke, hehe. Lemme just…" I pull up the face cam to fit the entire screen, flashing a shaky smile before looking down at the wooden instrument in my hands. It's actually white, but over time I painted little (F/C) designs on it -- vines, flowers, random shapes and the like. I think it's cute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Um...alright. Chat, don't make fun of me for my voice being all, um, shaky? I haven't done this in a year, okay? Okay.." I try to relax my hands so that I can actually play, exhaling with a quiet, "Okay."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sure you'll do great." Tommy says, and I wince inwardly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>(He's looking down on you.)</span>
  </em>
  <span> "And if you don't, I'll make fun of you on Twitter."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I let out a short laugh, closing my eyes and letting my fingers find their place. Somehow, Tommy low-key threatening me made me feel less scared. Perhaps because it's more in-character of him. No idea, really.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I take a deep breath, mutter a few more 'okay's, and begin to sing in front of strangers for the first time in a year.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I know (I know)</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>You belong to somebody new,</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>But tonight you belong to me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Although (although)</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>We're apart, you're a part of my heart</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>And tonight you belong to me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Almost immediately, the nervousness I felt spikes, but I shove through it. It's far too late to turn back now. My voice is shaky with not just nervousness or worry, but with subtle fear underneath the surface. I can definitely hear it (I'm incredibly self-conscious about it right now), but I can't do anything about it. I'll just have to deal.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Way down by the stream,</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>How sweet it will seem,</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Once more, just to dream</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>In the moonlight.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My honey, I know (I know)</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>With the dawn</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>That you will be gone,</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>But tonight, you belong to me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>I won't deny that I'm talented at singing -- no point in false humility -- or the fact that I have impressive amounts of range. I opted to sing the riff-y, soprano-y part of the song, but I could have easily gone with the lower alto parts. Look, I took Chorus in highschool, I didn't study music theory, I don't know the terms for these things. All I know is that I'm singing the part the goes, "You belOoOoOng to soOoOoOmebody neEeEeEw." That's it.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Way down, way down along the stream,</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>How very, very sweet it will seem</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Once more, just to dream</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>In the silvery moonlight.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>I try to stop my hands from shaking, messing up the ukulele slightly. I close my eyes, shaking my head slightly. I just need to finish the song, come on.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My honey, I know (I know)</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>With the dawn</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>That you will be gone,</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>But tonight, you belong</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
  <em></em>
  <span>To me, just to little ol' me!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I end the song on the uke, smiling unnervingly, immediately dropping the ukulele on the floor as fast as possible without throwing it. The chat is going insane, and I don’t think it could possibly get any worse until Tommy speaks up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy s--t (Y/N), where’d you learn to sing like that?” He exclaims in disbelief. “Can we get some f-----g PogChamps in chat for that, Jesus Christ!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I let out a choked, almost strangled laugh, trying to keep face before blurting out, “I need to use the bathroom, Tommy, thanks for keeping my chat entertained, be right back!” I pull up the BRB screen, mute and deafen (in Discord and on the stream), and cover my mouth, pilling up my legs and trying to ignore the tears bubbling up to my eyes, threatening to spill over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I press my hands against my head, nails digging into my hair as my brain struggles to process exactly what I just did to myself. My train of thought is off the rails and going a mile a minute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I feel a hand on my shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I whip around, stifling a shriek to see who it is, hands primed to hit someone away if needed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s Casey, obviously. </span>
  <em>
    <span>(Who else would it have been?)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He holds up his phone, on which I see my own BRB screen, and I break down, lowering my arms and putting my face into my hands. “He’s gonna f-----g find it, Casey, I never should have done that, oh God, oh God --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey -- woah, wait, (Y/N), calm down.” Casey slowly rests a hand on my shoulder again, in clear view this time so I don’t jump. “Nobody’s gonna find anything. What makes you think that he even cares anymore? I’m sure it’s been a busy year in prison for him, why would he even remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He -- he said that he’d always...h-he’d always --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“(Y/N), the guy was f-----g nuts. He’s probably more tied up with the man he almost killed than whether or not his ex-girlfriend got over the trauma that he induced.” Casey stiffens, then relaxes, tilting his head. “C’mon...please stop crying. (Y/N), please?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I try to wipe my face, slightly embarrassed for losing it in front of my brother like this, taking a long, shuddering breath. “People liked it, so people are gonna clip it, and save it and post it, and then he’s gonna find it and he’ll remember and he’ll --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll what?” Casey interrupts, and my mouth snaps shut. “Let’s say he does find it -- what’s he gonna do? It’s not like we’re ever gonna let him inside the house again, and didn’t he move away? Plus, you’re moving in with Nova in a month, so you’ll be even </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> impossible to get to.” He smiles slightly and squeezes my shoulder, and I flinch unwillingly. Seeing the look on Casey’s face makes me feel genuinely awful about the reaction, and he sighs, letting his hand fall to his side. "You did f-----g great, okay? I'm literally the proudest of you, and I'm fully aware that if you were in a better state of mind you'd punch me for being condescending, but I'm serious. I'm so happy that you did it, and I really don't want you to be all upset about it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He spreads out his arms with a smile, which I begrudgingly mirror. His grin is infectious. "Tommy loved that s--t, first of all, like, look --" he leans over, and I see that he has an earbud in. "He's losing his mind at your chat because he didn't know you had that much raw talent."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I giggle and smack his arm before my eyes widen as I actually register what he said. "Wait, really?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh, yeah?" He hands me the other earbud and I put it in, listening to my own stream from Casey's phone. Never thought that'd happen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"-- watches their own VODs? She isn't a YouTuber, she's not going to see this, shut up. She's still deafened. I'm not gonna get caught. Why are you all so paranoid, Jesus Christ." He quiets down for a moment before letting out a slight laugh. "No but seriously, uh, that was great. I'm glad that she did it, and I'm glad that I don't see any of you motherf-----s saying that it was bad. I'll fight you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I lean over to my computer, letting the earbud fall out as I undeafen and unmute, saying, "Tommy, I left you here to be entertaining, not to threaten everyone, what the f--k, dude?" My voice is very obviously still slightly shaky, and my eyes are probably going to give me away, but it's whatever. I switch out of the BRB screen and directly onto the game so my facecam is tiny. Stealth 100.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wh -- how much of that did you hear?" Tommy exclaims, and Casey stifles a laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Mmm...wouldn't you like to know, weather boy?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, I would like to know, very much, in fact, because my reputation is depending on it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What if I told you that I didn't even go to the bathroom and I was just sitting here, listening to you endlessly compliment me and boost my ego?" I tilt my head to the side, placing down cobble in the lava to try and find anything useful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wh -- no, that's bulls--t, I saw you deafen! You were gone for most of that, and why would I ever 'endlessly compliment you,' you narcissist."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I laugh out loud, and so does Casey, who still sits next to me. "Yeah, I just caught the tail-end of it, when you threatened anyone that gave me criticism, you f-----g simp.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy completely ignores me and asks, “Who was that that just laughed with you? I heard someone else there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I turn to Casey, whose eyes are widened. I keep my eyes on him and turn back to my screen, slowly saying, “Thaaat’s my brother, Casey, the one you called a d--khead yesterday, remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh s--t, hello Casey, I did not mean it when I called you a d--khead, I’m sure you’re an incredibly pleasant man --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t rub his ego, dude, he doesn’t deserve it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve basically accepted the fact that I’m a d--khead, you don’t need to apologize, Tommy.” He shines an impish grin. “I’ve learned to embrace it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well then I’m not sorry and I definitely meant it, you lost me eight f------g diamonds, you know that, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I turn to Casey and ask, “Do you wanna show your face or…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shakes his head fervently, and I shrug. Alright. “Yeah, I know!! I’m like, your biggest fan, you know that right? Did (Y/N) -- uh, Skelpie, did she ever tell you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I chuckle and turn back to the camera. “He’s basically a TommyInnit stan. I think he cosplays y --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“(Y/N)! Shut up!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What!” I exclaim, muttering a ‘yes’ under my breath as I find diamonds. Nice. “It’s not like I was gonna say your at. I’m just stating the fact.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s pretty weirdchamp, Casey.” Tommy says, and I gasp exaggeratedly as Casey puts his head in his hands. I reach over to him and pat his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tommy, how could you...you made him cry...aw, don’t worry Casey, he didn’t mean it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Casey puts on his most distressed face and voice, and I swear that there are tears coming to his eyes. I have to stifle a laugh. “Y-Yes he did! I can’t believe this...never meet your idols…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, no, I didn’t --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tommy, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>monster.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> I say, looking as angry as possible. “How could you do that to someone, that’s so awful of you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t mean to say that the cosplay is weirdchamp, I’m just saying that being a stan is --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Casey sobs loudly, and it’s incredibly clear to anyone watching that I’m holding back loud laughs. I look at the camera shaking my head. “Tommy, how could you do that to someone? Listen to him, he’s absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>devastated,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tommy, I think bullying a child is a cancelable offense --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I get cut off by a swift punch to my shoulder and I laugh, smacking Casey back. “We’re the same age, (Y/N)! I think I’m older than him, actually!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, God damn it, not another person that’s older than me, there are too many of those around here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s quite unfortunate, being the almost-youngest. You’re definitely the youngest mentally -- Tubbo is so much more mature than you, Tommy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re...we’re talking about the same person here, right?” Tommy says in disbelief, and I shrug. “Tubbo is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> more mature than me, in no f-----g way is he more mat -- what the hell are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I shrug. “I don’t know. I read people’s characters as a hobby, I think a lot of people would agree with me. Like -- which of the two of you is more likely to throw a temper tantrum? Like a child?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy doesn’t even get a chance to answer before Casey says, “Ooh, ooh, I know! Tommy! He does it like four times per stream, I should know, I watch all of them!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We laugh out loud as Tommy vehemently denies the accusations, ending with a pitiful, “This isn’t fair, I’m being ganged up on here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I gesture as if he just made my argument for me. “‘This isn’t fair?’ He’s even talking like a seven-year-old! This is ridiculous, Tommy, act your age.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut the f--k up Skelpie, you’re barely any older than me, you have no right --”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, okay child, sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Pacing sucks.</p><p>Anyways, SUPER short chapter today, this is like, eight pages, sorry, but I want to start writing that Halloween chapter RIGHT NOW so I'm not late with it!!! Afterwards comes the war, which will come in two parts and be...just ridiculously lengthy. So look forward to that!!!</p><p>Also WHOOOOO WE'RE AT 100 COMMENTS POGCHAMP!!! AND 3600 HITS!!! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH I LOVE YOU!!! By comparison, 871 reads and 14 comments on Wattpad LMAO.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Hide and Seek</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You play Among Us for what is hopefully the last time in this book.</p><p>TW&amp;CW: Y'all know the Among Us drill at this point. Oh, and the ending is really lame. Sorry.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to do this, not with Skelpie, please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I laugh aloud at Eliza’s quiet pleas, and shake my head, chuckling. “I’m probably not even going to get impostor, my luck is awful. There’s basically nothing to worry about.” I tilt my head to the side. “And if I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> get impostor, then you probably deserved it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I’m currently playing Among Us with a plethora of friends -- or at least, a few friends and acquaintances. There’s me, of course, Eliza, Tommy, Alex, Wilbur, Tubbo, Eret, Fundy, and, quite surprisingly, Dream and Bad. A full house, really, and I’m loving it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We dance around in the lobby, and I hear Wilbur (who made the room) say, “So, we all know the rules, right? Tell everyone you’re impostor, no reporting bodies, no venting, no calling emergency meetings unless you’re being chased? Right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>We all give sounds of agreement, and Wilbur starts the round. I mute for a moment and turn to chat, saying, “Chat, I’m not gonna narrate this since everyone will be unmuted...but I might write something about it tomorrow or today. Stay tuned.” I wink, and unmute.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Crewmate.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ooh, I'm the Impostor!" Bad says, and my eyes widen. I have no idea how </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> is going to turn out. I suppose I'll just have to try my best.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I blink a couple of times, squinting. The lighting on Polus is so weird, it’s incredibly hard to see...but not impossible. Helmets aren’t necessary right now, so I can clearly see the nervousness etched on everyone’s faces.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>In stark comparison, Bad stands still and to the side with an unnerving smile on his face. He cheerily says, “I’ll give you guys a ten second headstart,” and I </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>book</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> it out of the dropship. There aren’t too many tasks to get done, but it’s best to have a strategy for these sorts of things. I head down to specimens, which is basically the electrical of this planet. I’m getting it done early because nobody comes here first.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So...how’s the weather?” I hear Eliza say, and everyone laughs over the earpieces.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That’s boring, that’s not gonna get any views on YouTube, Elizabeth -- Bad, where are you?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I hear nothing but a small chuckle, a giggle, even, before he responds. “I’m just waiting.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My brows furrow and I pause my sorting for a moment. A chorus of people over the radio ask, “Waiting for what,” and I can’t help but echo their justified confusion.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Then, I’m plunged into near pitch black darkness, and I can almost hear the lightbulbs go off over everyone’s heads. A blanket of silence is draped over use. Nobody wants to go fix them, but running around in the dark makes us on the same level as the impostor in terms of sight, which isn’t good for anyone...except Bad.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I bite the corner of my mouth and turn back to my task. “I’m not doing it, hell no,” I say, earning laughs from the rest of the group. “Make Fundy do it, he might actually get tasks done for once when he’s dead.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wh -- no!!” He protests, and I snicker, moving to the 1-100 task. “Send Wilbur to do it, he’s the one that got us into this mess!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wilbur makes an offended noise, as if the idea of this being his fault was completely out of the question. “No, send Dream to do it, he’s the closest with Bad, maybe he won’t kill him!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bad scoffs. “I’m not gonna choose favorites, Wilbur.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah, so I think Tubbo should do it.” Dream says, and Tubbo responds with a loud, “what?!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why should </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> do it -- no, I think it would make sense for Eret to do it. He’s the second oldest, we all have long lives ahead of us, and Wilbur has grandchildren to get back home to, we can’t kill him!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I finish the 1-100 task and move to the download as Eret chuckles. Why I have literally every specimen task, I’ll never know. “In comparison, I think Quackity should go for it -- he has very little to live for.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The radio feed blows up because of Eret’s roast, and I can hear Alex’s laughs over the roar. He says, “Wow Eret, I’m hurt. But, y’know, I think Eliza should go.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...why?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I can almost hear him shrug as he says, “She’s just a b---h.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bad lets out a gasp, and I startle so hard that I look around the room I’m in as if I heard it near me. “Language!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eliza lets out a noise of outrage before saying snotilly, “Then I think Tommy should go, he’s even b----ier.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Language!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wh -- screw you, NovaNova Minecraft.” Tommy says, and I stifle a giggle, smacking the side of the glowing download panel to make it go faster. “I don’t know, make (Y/N) do it or something!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I scoff, my download only moments away from finishing. “I already said, I’m not going to go -- oh, S--T.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My blood runs cold as I see something blurry and ridiculously fast moving fly though my field of vision. I can only barely see that it’s embedded itself into the wall on the other side of the room. A throwing knife.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t even turn to look at the person that threw it before booking it into the decontamination hallway. I know who it is from the quiet “language” that comes from the other end of the room.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I mutter profanities under my breath as I run, slamming my hand into the button to open decontam. I can’t see Bad, but I can hear his quiet laughs under the panic coming from the radio at my exclamation, the sound echoing both in my ear and directly behind me. “C’mon, c’mon c’mon c’mon --”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The door opens and I rush inside. The lights turn back on suddenly, and I can see Bad’s scarily calm face as he pulls his arm back, ready to throw another knife with deadly precision. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The doors slam shut just as the knife goes airborne, and I can see a nick of it from the other side of the door. I let out a loud, “YES!” just as Bad releases a groan of disappointment.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What? What happened, where is he?” Alex asks, and I bite the corner of my mouth as I hold out my arms for decontaminating, mood suddenly dampened. I’m going to need to do something that I </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> don’t want to do. But it’s necessary.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I ditched him at admin decontam to the right.” I say in a low voice. “ETA to Medbay is about fifteen seconds.” I drop my hands and enter Medbay as the door opens, looking around for anyone. I hear Bad make a noise of confusion, and I pray that he doesn’t correct this so this can work.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I walk in and see Alex scanning, and my anxiety spikes along with my guilt. I stand next to him, shifting my stance uncomfortably as the green light envelopes the boy. “(Y/N), let’s stick together -- he can’t kill both of us, right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I flash him a smile. “Right.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I hear Bad come out of decontamination, and I put on a determined face, blinking back tears. Whatever it takes, I refuse to die in a hellhole like </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>. I shove Alex down onto the Medbay scanner as Bad walks up and I run past him, ducking under his arm and moving as fast as humanly possible.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I wipe my face as I hear Alex’s panicked screams coming from the corner or the room, pressing my eyes into the telescope and finding the shattered ship in the sky in record time. I hear choking and gurgling coming from where I left the pair, and I can only imagine where the knife was embedded into him. I run into the room with the broken rocket ship to stabilize it, and while I work, I feel a rush of cold pass through me, and I can clearly hear Alex’s angered voice scream at me from another plane of existence.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“(Y/N), did you just </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>sacrifice me?!</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>” He screeches, and it takes every ounce of my power to resist covering my eyes. “You f-----g lied about where he was so you could do your tasks while he was on his f-----g cooldown, are you kidding me?!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Quackity! Language!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I hear laughs and mutters of disapproval from the other crewmates, and all I say in response is, “All is fair in love and war --” A loud, metallic noise comes from behind me and I groan. “God </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>damn</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> it Bad, why are you an actually good impostor, this isn’t fair!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bad just corrects my language, and I roll my eyes.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I back away from the rocket and open the panel next to the now closed door that I just came too, flipping the switches so they all face the same direction. He’s stalling for time so his kill cooldown will run out. Too bad I’ve been playing this for two years. I know </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>true</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> speed when it comes to this stuff.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m out of Medbay in a couple of seconds.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Bad should be coming out of medbay soon, everyone, stay alert.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“This is like a f-----g horror movie, Jesus Christ.” Tommy says, laughing nervously, and I can see him as I enter Comms. We make eye contact and I smile as he scowls at me, rolling his eyes, and I thwack the side of his head as I upload. “Bad, could you just...not...Sabotage, maybe?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bad laughs over the radio, and my stomach drops. It’s chilling how light-heartedly he’s taking this, as if this is nothing but a game to him. “Why would I do that, Tommy?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Because youuuu aren’t a bad person?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“His name is </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>literally</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> Bad, Tommy.” Wilbur says, and I shake my head. Idiot.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I suddenly flinch as I hear a piercing scream ring through the area and hit my ears at full force. I recognize the scream as Elizabeths, and through the feeling of despair that wells up in my chest, I force a laugh. “Did you get jumpscared by the kill animation, Eliza?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“NO, MAYBE, SHUT UP, BAD I HATE YOU!!” She shrieks, and everyone laughs, Tommy letting out a cackle of his own.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I chuckle nervously and turn to the (taller/shorter) boy standing to the side of me. The flickering lights in comms add to the grim atmosphere. “H-Hey Tommy...you wanna stick together? I’ll tell you when Bad gets close and --”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No, Tommy, don’t do it,” Tubbo warns, and I roll my eyes. “I can assure you that she’ll throw you to the wolves the moment she gets the chance, I swear.” I shush him, crossing my arms.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tommy’s expression shifts into one of disgust. “The last person you were with got </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>murdered</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> because you lied to them, hell no!” By the time he’s finished talking, he’s already out the door, and I roll my eyes yet again. Coward.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I also exit comms, grateful that I only have three tasks left. Granted, one of them is a two-parter, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. I head into the building to my left, maneuvering into O2 to fill up the canisters. It’s silent over the radio as the bar rises, but I can’t feel at ease, constantly throwing glances out of the room.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I hear a loud yell, both in the call...and out of it. I hold my second canister and back out of the room just in time to see Wilbur come dashing from the northern hallway. Bad follows just behind him, and all of the doors in the area slam shut with a loud clang. Wilbur spots me and tries to run in my direction, perhaps trying to lead Bad to me, and I start to back into the room, cursing. “Wilbur don’t you </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>f-----g</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> dare, don’t you dare, keep him -- oh God --”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Skelpie, language!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bad, I’m trying to weave an intricate horror story in my mind right now, and the literal murderer telling everyone to watch their profanity like a concerned parent is </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> throwing off the vibe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then watch your language and I won’t have to correct you!” He replies, and I sigh outwardly. Fine.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wilbur doesn’t even make it into the room. His hand grips the edge of the doorway, but Bad slams his body into him, knocking the taller, lanky boy into the wall sharply. In a matter of moments, Bad’s knife is out and he swings it into Wilbur’s neck with a smile. Wilbur splutters and chokes, his hand reaching for the knife -- perhaps to pull it out? -- but Bad intercepts his hand, grabbing it and using it to push the knife even further through Wilbur’s neck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>His eyes bulge out from his face almost comically, the dark red of his blood staining his white outfit. Bad lets him go and he stumbles off of the wall before falling onto the ground, unmoving. The impostor hums, pulling the knife from Wilbur’s corpse with little effort and wiping it on his own, black suit.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>His head snaps towards me, and I think I can hear the crack of his neck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I panickedly turn back to the O2 station, filling up the remaining canister and saying into my earpiece, “They -- Bad got Wilbur, how long is the kill cooldown, </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>how long is the kill cooldown?!</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s thirty seconds, Skelpie, calm down.” Bad responds with a giggle. I finish filling up the canisters and shove Bad to the side, running into the bottom room and filling up the water cooler, counting the seconds under my breath. I put the cooler over my head and book it out of there, Bad calmly standing a few feet behind me as I open the door with one hand.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I run as fast as possible to the meeting room, cursing </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>loudly</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> when the door slams shut directly in my face, ignoring Bad’s teasing reprimand that comes from just behind me. I flip the switches and yell, “Dream, is this what you feel like when you’re doing the Manhunts?! Bad, get off my ass, leave me alone, oh my God!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dream laughs over Bad’s correction saying, “Yes, exactly. Nobody ever understands how </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>annoying</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> it is.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, that’s the point, I’m trying to get you, I can’t just leave you alone!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes you can, it’s called pressing A on your keyboard and going away!!” I rush through the door and fill up the cooler in the meeting room, running out of the other side and cursing. I can’t do my last task -- card swipe -- with Bad on my tail. I’m going to have to lose him, and dammit, if it means sacrificing someone else then so be it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait, Eret, did I just see you?” I say lightly. “Or wait -- no, that was Fundy, right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eret makes a noise of confusion as Fundy says, “Nnnope. I didn’t see anyone. I’m over at bottom no -- oothing. Bottom nothing.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I smirk and start to sprint out of the main building, just as Bad starts to pick up speed -- his kill cooldown is up, and I’m his main target. I run around the building and down, boots crunching in the snow as I lower my head so the crisp night wind doesn’t hit my eyes and nose. I can just barely see Fundy’s orange suit in the darkness, and I run behind him. He kneels at the node, trying to fix it, and I yank him up and push him in front of me, literally using him as a (mostly) human shield.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Thankfully, Bad takes what he can get. As I grip Fundy’s shoulders and he freezes in fear, Bad lunges forward with his knife, embedding it into Fundy’s chest without a second thought. His arms slowly move upwards to the knife, and I let him go, standing to the side, my eyes widening in terror. Bad takes the knife out with one hand, and in the other, there’s another. He juts them both into Fundy’s stomach, and the boy falls over. The impostor clad in balck plants a heavy boot on Fundy’s chest, leaning over and swiping a knife across his neck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I turn away, my eyes lingering on the body before I run in the other direction, back to admin. I stumble as I feel a flush of cold fly through me, once, twice, three times.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“How many people are you going to sacrifice this game?!” Alex yells in my ears, and I press my hands over them. It doesn’t help.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“As many people as I need to, I’m not dying to f-----g BadBoyHalo!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Language!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“SHUT UP!!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The call breaks into laughs, and I hear Eret say over the noise, “Wait, Skelpie, were you going to come to me first? Why’d you say my name?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“At first, yeah, I was,” I admit, and I hear Fundy say, “what?!” “And then I realized that you wouldn’t be dumb enough to give me your location.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What, and I was?!” Fundy yells, and I shrug, entering the room in which my last task is.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I mean, you did. You’re dead now. Plus, if I got Eret killed, Casey would have </span>
  <em>
    <span>killed </span>
  </em>
  <span>me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought your brother was a TommyInnit stan…?” Tubbo questions, and I laugh nervously. I’m gonna get punched if I don’t choose my words carefully here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then again, it’s like getting punched by a baby, so I don’t really care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but he thinks Eret is like, the coolest person to walk the face of the Earth. It’s adorable.” Eret slaughs, and I smile slightly before realizing that Casey’s stream is probably going to catch up </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> quick. “I’ll be right back, I need to lock my door, Bad don’t kill me --!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I jump from my seat and turn the lock on my door. I walk back to my chair with a smile just as Casey yells something akin to ‘you.’ I laugh aloud and hope the stream picked it up.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Anyways, about Fundy being an idiot.” I say, pulling out my card and swiping it through the scanner. People laugh, and Fundy just sounds offended. “I’m done with all of my tasks, anyone wanna --”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“AHH, BAD, WHERE THE HELL DID YOU COME FROM?!” I hear Tommy scream, and surprisingly, I hear </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Dream</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> chuckle. “DREAM, YOU -- DID YOU LEAD HIM TO ME?!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What is this lobby, why do we keep sacrificing each other?!” Fundy yells, and I shrug as everyone laughs and Tommy continues cursing in the background, much to Bad’s disapproval.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey Dream, you done with your tasks?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uh...yeah, I just finished. Why?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I smirk and start to run around, looking for wherever the man in green could be. “Let’s stick together and see who gets sacrificed first. It’s a challenge.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Is it stupid of me to play around with life and death like this? Absolutely. Should I stay as far away from Dream as possible since he also seems to share my general disregard for other people’s life? Definitely. Is grouping up with </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> in this game mode a horrible idea? Yeah, probably.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Do I care? Of course not, who do I look like?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dream laughs darkly, saying, “Okay, sure...but you’re going to have to find me first, I’m not like Fundy.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Waaay ahead of you, big man.” I say, leaning on the lab table in Medbay. He turns to me and startles, and I giggle. I spot a body in the corner of the room, purple in nature and completely unmoving. It’s slumped against the wall underneath the samples. I wince and turn away as Dream looks at what I was staring at, frowning slightly and shrugging. Damn. Heartless. “Bad, how many people are left, by the way?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He scoffs. “I don’t know, five or six? I haven’t been keeping track…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Okay, who’s still alive?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eret and Tubbo both say, “me,” and obviously Dream and I are still here…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait, is that it?!” I exclaim. “Four people left -- all he needs to do is kill three of us! C’mon, why are you all so trash?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That last comment creates a burst of replies from everyone, mostly people saying that they only died because they got thrown to the wolves by me or Dream. I shrug. “Still doesn’t explain why you’re all so bad, booo, get ‘em outta here.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>literally</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> only came over to me so you could get me killed!” Fundy yells.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Alex adds on, “You lied to everyone about where Bad was and got me murdered on f-----g Medbay scarn!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Quackity, language.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You basically let me die right in front of you, Skelpie.” Wilbur says, and I make a  noise of objection.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wilbur, that was all you -- you were the original target -- you tried to run into where I was so that I would die instead of you, you’re no better!! Shut the hell up!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dream and I start to walk out of Medbay, making a silent agreement not to go into Specimens -- that’s basically a death wish at this point in the game. I crack my knuckles nervously, listening to the radio (and ghostly) chatter.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Dream got me killed too, I just realized.” Eliza says through quiet laughs. “He knew I had samples at one point, so he ran back to them after getting chased and banked on me being there..which I was.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No, now you’re just giving him too much credit, there’s no way that he’s </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> big-brained.” Tommy says sardonically, and I have to disagree...internally, of course. Dream is somehow just as smart as we give him credit for when it comes to these kinds of things. It’s kind of scary.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No, that’s exactly what I did. I knew that she would have had to come back, and Bad was chasing me...it -- it was the only thing I could do or else I’d get killed.” He winces, his movement becoming slower. “Sorry.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I can almost see Eliza wave her hand dismissively. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it! But you’d better win, or else I’m killing you first when I’m impostor.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Speaking of which,” I trail off and stomp my feet. “Ghosts, Tubbo, Eret, do your God damn tasks!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Language!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shut up!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m done with my tasks, I don’t know about Tubbo.” Eret says, and Dream and I turn to each other and nod. We know our next target.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tubbo...you’d better get your tasks done, or we’re leaking your location as soon as we find you.” I warn in a low tone.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The kid just gasps. “Well, if you get me killed, I’m not going to do my tasks as a ghost!” He says defiantly, and everyone -- and I mean </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>everyone</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> -- in the call groans. “I am as petty as I can possibly be.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So you’d rather lose the </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>entire round</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> than die so you can get your tasks done quicker?” Dream questions, and Tubbo just responds with an, “mm-hm!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I roll my eyes. “Now I </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> wanna kill him. Bad, if we lead you to Tubbo, do you promise not to kill me or Dream until the end of the round?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Mmm…” Bad hums, most likely debating with himself. “Sure, why not. I’m going to win anyways.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I roll my eyes and nod to Dream, who starts to look around the area. “Hey, Tubbo, are you sure you don’t just want to...tell us where you are? It’d make this go a lot faster.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What -- no!!” He exclaims, and I just laugh and shrug.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Suit yourself. Bad, we’re at O2, and if you kill either of us, I’m killing you first when I get Impostor, I swear.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bad pulls up pretty quickly, and I can feel my heart rate quicken, and I ignore it. He just lingers behind Dream and I as we wander around thePolus camp, checking everywhere for Tubbo and coming up blank. “Tubbo, where even are you? Are you even doing  your tasks?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No, I’m just hiding.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tubbo, I swear to God, do your tasks!!” Tommy screeches, and I snort. As if that’s going to help. “You’re going to lose us the game!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well I don’t want to die, either!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You won’t die if you do your tasks, Tubbo!” Alex yells.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s probably hiding in one of those random places where you can only see the nametag, right?” I mutter, tapping the side of my desk. At this point, I don’t even care about winning. This is a game all on it’s own...but I do want to get it over with soon so the people that are dead can play again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah...uh, let’s check behind the rock first.” Dream says, but he starts to run in the complete other direction, back towards O2. I tilt my head to the side, confused, before realizing quickly what he’s doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I gesture towards Bad, who was just leaning on the side o a wall, dragging his finger across his knife, tearing the glove fabric slightly. Dream and I walk, quietly, toward the Weapons blaster, walking by it to seem inconspicuous. I can see a flash of yellow behind the beam thing, which shifts to be out of view. I turn to Dream and nod, gesturing towards Bad.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We sharply turn and close in on Tubbo from either side of the tower, and I can see the panicked expression on his face as I grab one of his arms, Dream grabbing the other and pulling him out as I push. My grip on him tightens as he tries to wriggle out and run away, screaming bloody murder as Bad slowly stalks toward him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He stops suddenly a few feet away, and I can see Dream’s confused expression that slowly morphs into realization and horror as Bad pulls out a throwing knife. I can barely even register the weapon leaving his hand -- it looks more like a flick of the wrist, and when I turn to the teen in my hands, there’s a knife embedded in his forehead. His screaming heightens in pitch before slowly dying, becoming quieter and quieter.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I let go of his arm and back away, covering my mouth so I don’t scream. Dream doesn’t let go in a panic, his eyes widening in fear as his head whips back to Bad, who just stands there with a horrifyingly satisfied grin on his face. Dream snaps out of his terror and lets go of Tubbo’s arm, and as the young boy falls to aground, Bad’s hand moves faster than my eyes can catch, and there’s a knife directly in Tubbo’s chest -- right where his heart is.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I book it in the other direction as Tubbo starts to screech as a ghost, the sound ripping at my ears as I rush headfirst through the blizzard that’s attacking Polus, looking for somewhere, anywhere to hide from the Impostor that’s already back on the move. That was awful. But if I don’t want to die…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I ignore that chatter going on in the radio, looking around the base for the last remaining person aside from Dream and I. “Eret...I’m gonna need you to come with me. State your location and make this easier for everyone.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eret chuckles, but I can hear the shake in their voice. “No can do, soldier. I’m just going to hide, I think.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Bad, whichever of us finds Eret, can you kill the other person?” Dream questions, and my pace instantly quickens, boots crunching through the snow at a far faster speed than before, poking my head through every area. I keep my head up so I don’t see the slew of bodies littered around the camp -- it’ll just slow me down.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uhhm...yeah, sure!” Whoever finds Eret first gets to stay alive, I guess.” Bad responds and I clench my fists by my sides, frustrated. The camp isn’t </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> big, and I’ve checked basically every nook and cranny of the place.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Apparently, Dream shares my frustrations, as not too long after, an exasperated growl comes from over the radio. “Eret, where -- where </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> you? I’ve basically looked everywhere -- did you disconnect and no one noticed or something?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eret laughs again, along with most of the other ghosts. “No, you guys just...haven’t found me yet. Which, I mean, I’m not complaining. You definitely don’t have to find me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“No, yes, they do,” Wilbur hisses. “I want to play the game too, and although we could probably finish </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>much</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> faster if Tubo just did his </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>last f-----g task</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>, this also works.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well -- don’t tell them where I am,” Eret says nervously, his voice trembling. They try to cover it up, but I can hear right through it. One of my many talents. “If they can’t find me, then Bad just kills the both of them and I win.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Not gonna happen.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Seconded.” I mutter, and I take a deep breath, entering Medbay decontamination. If I’m wrong about this, then I wouldn’t blame Bad for killing me. Specimens is a place less for tasks and more for secluded murder, if you ask me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I creep down the hallway, my back pressed against the wall. I poke my head around the corner and immediately bull it back, breathing deeply. Eret stands over the Simon Says task, messing with the buttons so they make noises. “H-Hey Bad?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yeah?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Where...um...where are you?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I hear Alex say something akin to, “Oh no, no, no” under his breath, Fundy letting out an, “Ohhh….” in realization, and Tommy just laughs with a quiet, “You’re f----d, Eret.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m in the meeting room...why?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Perfect,” I say, stepping out from around the corner. Eret sees me almost immediately and startles, backing up into the table. “Come through Admin decontam, </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>. They’re in Specimens.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dream lets out his own, “Oh no,” with a slight chuckle, covering up his own fear.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Aww...thanks, Skelpie!” Bad replies cloyingly, and I can hear the decontam open from the other side. Eret looks at me with a terrified expression, muddled with anger and the feeling of utmost betrayal. I take one step back, then another, then dart into the Medbay decontam hallway as soon as I see Bad enter Specimens.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m only just reaching the door when Bad catches up to me -- apparently, he didn’t take his time with </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> kill. Either that, or he just wanted to catch up with me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We both enter Decontamination, and he leans on the wall as I actually get decontaminated. As soon as the door opens, he pops out and runs ahead of me, saying, “Okay, now we’ve just gotta find Dream!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Nope, not gonna happen, I’m hiding.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tubbo, I swear to s--t, DO YOUR F-----G TASK, OH MY GOD!!!” I hear Eliza suddenly scream, and laughs break out.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The boy just responds stubbornly, “I said I wasn’t going to do it if they killed me, and they killed me! I can’t go back on my word!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We’re giving you permission to go back on your word </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>just this once</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>,” Wilbur seethes. “So we can, you know, </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> lose the game?!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’ll have to think about it, then.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“There’s no time to </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>think about it</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>, just DO THE TASK!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, I can’t think if you’re yelling at me, Nova.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“OH MY GOD!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I think he’s hiding in...Electrical.” Bad mutters, gesturing for me to follow. I do so hesitantly. “Let’s go check, Skelpie!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We make our way to Electrical at a snail’s pace, finding nothing there. I fidget with my hands and try to slink away, but Bad cuts off the hallway’s doors. Before I can open the panel to fix it, he’s walking out of Electrical. “I think we should check...Dropship. C’mon!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I begrudgingly follow him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>I mute myself and look into the camera. “I know what he’s doing, chat. At this point, the round is f----d anyways, let’s just get this over with, hehe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I walk into Dropship with him, where he stands in the center and looks around with crossed arms, probably pouting.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“M-Maybe he’s down in Specimens,” I stutter, making erratic hand movements. They shake and tremble, naturally being terrified of being in the same room with the Impostor, no matter how sure I am that he won’t do anything to me. “Uh...we can go che -- ghk!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m cut off by a blade being embedded directly into my throat. I can’t even begin to describe the pain it elicits as my eyes widen in shock, looking the demon in the eyes like a fool. As if this wasn’t to be expected. He stands with his arm outstretched, his grip still on the knife before handing it out.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My hands rise to my neck as I stumble backwards, the blood flooding from my neck in gratuitous amounts and covering my hands and outfit. I can’t breath -- there almost feels to be liquid filling my lungs, and I can’t help but choke, blood flying out of my mouth and hitting Bad’s black suit. The wound feels like fire laced under my skin, and I would scream if there was any breath left in my lungs to do so.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I lose my balance and fall over, my skull hitting the floor with a sharp crack, my vision going out just as suddenly.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Defeat.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bad, I...</span>
  <em>
    <span>hate</span>
  </em>
  <span> you. You suck. You’re awful. I’m killing you first.” I seethe, and everyone else either laughs or makes pointed comments about how long that took. Alex in particular, seeing as how he died about a minute into the round.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream laughs about his own victory, and I resist the urge to curse him out. “Dream, you wouldn’t have won if Bad didn’t just break his promise like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> win.” Dream points out, and I wish you could strangle people through the computer screen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> win -- you were a Crewmate, and the Crewmate’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>lost!!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sure didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>act</span>
  </em>
  <span> like a Crewmate -- neither of you.” Alex says pointedly, and the people that got screwed over by the both of us. I just shrug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All is fair…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you say that so much, Skelpie?” Tommy questions. I blink twice before even registering what he’s talking about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What...oh, ‘all is fair in love and war?’” Tommy confirms and I grin. “I ‘unno. It’s a cool quote, I hope to say it after doing something super badass, it’ll make it sick.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to have to say that?” Tommy exclaims.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wh -- Tommy, everyone here is on a roleplay server, what the hell are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>I pause.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Almost everyone here. Sorry, Quackity.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alex sniffs as if he’s crying before saying, “‘S fine...I don’t wanna join your elite roleplay server anyways. Probably lame and filled with nerds and….and revolutions...and...and </span>
  <em>
    <span>war</span>
  </em>
  <span>, yeah, I’m sure it sucks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right. Dream, start the round.” I say, and people laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The countdown starts, and I cross my fingers…</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Impostor</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A grin flies onto my face and I have to cover my mouth to stop me from squealing into the mic. In my bid to keep quiet, though, I forget to reveal some important information.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is it? Who’s the impostor?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I chuckle. Quietly, before it grows louder in volume. I look around the circle of people, who’s eyes widen in horror when they realize…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Holy s--t, it’s (Y/N), everyone SCATTER.” Alex shrieks, and he takes off out of the dropship, everyone following suit as I stand there and laugh to myself before immediately calling lights.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m going to f-----g </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>speedrun</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> this s--t, this is  going to be hilarious.” I say, watching in clear view as people rush into Electrical, walking slowly in the darkness. I tilt my head to the side as I look at the people that run past. “Don’t want to kill Alex, that’s cruel, don’t want to kill Tubbo, </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>yet</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jesus Christ.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh, you know what!” I run up to Eliza, who is walking by, grabbing her by her short, white hair, making her scream in pain and try to fight me off. Being the obviously superior and stronger race, though, I easily hold her off, grabbing both sides of her head and twisting sharply without a moment's hesitation. I let her go and she falls to the ground like a rock. “That works.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Eliza makes no sound, pausing before saying, “Your best friend? Really? Skelpie, I thought you were better than this.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I shrug. “I think you know what my response to that is. You should’ve just let one person go to lights, it doesn’t need an entire Goddamn army to fix.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wh -- I couldn’t see other people going to Electrical, the lights were off!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I giggle. “Whoopsie.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I spend the next few seconds running around, for the kill cooldown to finish. What a stupid feature. In any case, it’s easier than running around to find and follow people. It gives them time to run around and for me to lose sight of them while I can’t do anything to them, but if the kill cooldown is up, I can do it as soon as I want.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The timer runs out, and I crack a smile, rushing down into Admin and looking at the table, seeing where the most people are. “Okay, let’s see, let’s see…” I see a majority of people on the right side, still. In fact, there are about three people in tree and O2 each. I push away from the admin table and sprint back over to the right side, rushing into O2 and standing in the doorway.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I pull out the gun from my backside pocket, aiming for the closest person I can -- my vision isn’t that great. Supid rules.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I can vaguely see a black suit, and I grin, pulling the trigger with both hands on the weapon to absorb the recoil. The bullet seemingly goes straight through Bad’s skull, embedding itself in the wall at the other end of O2. I see flashes of pink and white whip around -- Eret and Wilbur, respectively -- before booking it out of the room.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I cackle as Bad starts yelling, and I ignore basically everything he says and respond with a simple, “Karma’s a b---h.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“LANGUAGE!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I snicker and run into Tree, leaning in the doorway and spooking Fundy and Tommy enough to make them run out past me. The only other person there is Dream, who continues to fiddle with the levels as if I’m not even there. I (sling my arm over his shoulder/lock my arm with his with a frighteningly tight grip) and he stiffens in fear, leaving me to lean on him as much as I want with a sly grin.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why didn’t you run like everyone else did, Dreamie?” I coo, and the man just chuckles nervously.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re still on kill cooldown. There’s no reason for me to.” He replies quietly, pushing me off to do the download. It’s unfortunate for him that he had both Tree tasks. Otherwise he might have had a chance.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I attach myself back onto Dream as he does the download, (wrapping my arms around him again/hugging him from the backside), saying, “Are you suuure I’m still on cooldown? Maybe I’m just messin’ with you.” I laugh as he glares at me from the corner of his eye that I can see from behind his mask, shoving me off. I call the lights, for no other reason than to make other people scared. Although I can still see perfectly fine, the lighting </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> shift, and my eyes travel up to his hair, which I poke. It glows, what can I say.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well, I don’t know why you’d do that, since it wouldn’t help you in any way.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe it’s just fun to bother you.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maybe you’re just annoying.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tubbo, is this -- is this ‘flerting’?” Tommy questions through quiet cackles, and the call erupts in laughter. I shove Dream into the wall with the download panel, laughing myself.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I think this is deffo flerting.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shut the f--k up, you know what?” Ignoring Bad’s reprimand, I don’t even hesitate in opening up my mouth -- my </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> mouth -- and sending the spiked muscle shooting directly through Dream’s skull. He lefts slightly off the ground, and when I retract it, he crumples into a heap on the floor. Nice.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I -- Skelpie!!” Dream exclaims as I run out of the room and towards lights. I see Tubbo leaving the area, and I start to follow him, which makes him start to screech and panic. Just a little bit. “Why would you do that?!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I couldn’t let Tommy and Tubbo trample upon my honor like that, c’mon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Flirting with me would be slandering your honor? Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“100%.” I hear Dream scoff, and I shrug. “Plus, half of your Twitter stans would personally attempt to crucify me, so it’s basically out of the question.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Touché.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I continue to trail Tubbo, who’s movements become more and more erratic as we go on. He tries to lose me multiple times, and I can’t help but laugh when he audibly complains.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Skelpie, why are you following me?! Leave me alone!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I dunno, I just wanna go where you’re going!” I respond, speeding up so I’m speedwalking right next to him. He turns to me, jumps with an exclaim, and darts into fuel, where he fills up his canister with shaky hands before running out. I just chuckle and follow him. "Tubbo, I'm not going to follow you, don't worry."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He turns back and scowls. "You're following me right now, Skelpie, what are you on about --?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I stop moving abruptly and start to walk away. "Fine. I won't follow you. See? Leaving. Going to go chase...uh...Fundy. Buh-bye!"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He narrows his eyes as I leave his field of vision, and I turn and smirk. I rush to stand next to the second fuel canister that he needs to fill. I lean on the tower next to it, taking off my gloves and starting to pick at my nails. Now...we wait.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And I don't wait for long. I see the young boy come into my field of vision, and too late does he realize what will happen, as my hand is already equipped with my knife. Quick as a flash, my arm flings out and the blade swipes directly across his neck. The poor kid's hands raise to his neck as he chokes on his own blood, and I don't wait for the scene to be over.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Tubbo's dead, let's get a headcount, who's still with us?" I say cheerily, ignoring Tubbo's anguished cries from another realm. "Not for any bad reasons, of course, I'm just curious as to how well I'm doing.~"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I'm still alive." Alex.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I am alive and well, Skelpie." Tommy.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Same here." Fundy.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I am alive." Eret.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"And me, I'm alive!" Wilbur.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Silence. I chuckle. "Damn, five people left? Lame."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Wh -- how is that even possible?!" Fundy exclaims, causing everyone to crack up."There's no way in hell you had enough time to kill that many people with a cooldown of thirty seconds, that's bull!"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I giggle. "No, it's called timing things right. You kill right when your cooldown ends and you get stuff done faster! Fundy, I've been playing this game since it came out because I was familiar with the developers, okay, I know how things work around here."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I walk around the map at a leisurely pace for my cooldown to end, listening to the idle chatter coming through the radios and the ghostly realm. Just as my cooldown is about to end, I interrupt whoever was talking (I'm not paying attention) and pull up my Sabotage screen, saying, "I'm gonna do something reeeally s----y, sorry."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"What are you --?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I cut off Tommy by hitting the button to turn off Comms, and a stunned silence covers the call.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Are...you...</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>kidding me</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>?!" Tommy screeches, and my laughter grows louder than it has been before. "You motherf----r Skelpie, that was just a d--k move, how could you, that's --"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"A perfect play on my part, yes, I know. I won't camp Comms, though. Scout's honor."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I plant my ass right next to Comms.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I'm coming to Speci, everyone, you better watch out.~" I say in a sing-songy tone, and I can hear Fundy mutter a quiet, "Oh…"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, now I know who's on the right side.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I wait for a few more moments, staying hidden from sight at Comms until I hear the familiar sound of crunching snow a few feet ahead of me. I crack my knuckles and run to tackle whoever is, who lets out a loud yelp as they're toppled over.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I can see Wilbur's panicked face as he tries to crawl away, but I rise up and stomp on his ankle as he tries to move, causing him to cry out. I lean over and pull him up by the back of his suit as he tries to get away, but I let him do nothing of the sort.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I let go and quickly shift the position of my hands to his neck, starting to put pressure on the fragile area. Almost immediately, his hands fly up to claw at mine, but they do nothing since they're gloved. The choking noise coming from him is music to my ears, and I tilt my head to the side as my hands grow tighter around his neck. I can see his face turn red, and the freckles on his face project even more light than usual.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Bye-bye!"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I crush his neck into bits and pieces.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I walk away, dusting my hands off and walking into Medbay as Wilbur makes spluttering noises that ring in my ear, saying, "You said you weren't going to camp Comms, what the </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>f--k</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>?!"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I giggle, looking around. "I lied."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"You're the worst."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"On the contrary -- I'm the best at this."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"That isn't what he meant and you </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span> it, Skelpie."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I'm coming for you next, b---cboy."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"You can try, asshole."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I crack my neck (ha). "Bet."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Needless to say, I won.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'M SO SORRY!! I had a whole cohesive explanation planned out for why this is a week late, but honestly, I'm so exhausted that all I can say is: Vacation and writer's block are both the perfect and worst mix. Perfect for my mental health, worst for actually getting things done.</p><p>Anyways, I'm going to be taking another break. I know this sucks, but I can assure you that it won't be for super long!! I've never written anything this long before, EVER, so I'm already suffering from intense burnout. It's not gonna be a long break, I'll probably post at a normal time, actually, but I just mean that I'm not going to start writing immediately after posting like I usually do. I dont want to have an ending like the one I did, where typing the story genuinely became physically challenging, hence why I cut it off like that.</p><p>Sorry. I hope y'all understand!! Thank you so much for 5000+ hits, the support has been CRAZY, I never expected anything like this, really. I love you all so much, and I'll be resting so I can bring my writing back up to how good it was before!! :D ♡♡</p><p>EDIT, 11/8: I FORGOT TO SAY, I'M GONNA COME BACK AND FINISH THIS CHAPTER!! At a later date ofc, I don't want there to be such a crappy chapter sitting to rot in MY book smh. So yeah it will be completed eventually.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Traitors</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You fight in a great war of countries and cahoots, of revolution and redemption, of bloodshed...</p><p>And betrayal.</p><p>TW/CW: Normal Minecraft violence, really, arrows, swords, etc, etc</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>
  <em> War. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> War is an ugly thing, but necessary. War keeps things moving forward, war determines who deserves what they desire, war weeds out the weaklings with little passion and no loyalty to the cause they fight for, war is a time-tested system to show who is the best of them all. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> War is an art, I realize. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> An art that I am proficient in. </em>
</p><p>“They’re all in the Nether, chat. I don’t need to go there -- I’m basically set for life -- so I’ll be waiting out here until we group back up. There shouldn’t be any problems…”</p><p>
  <em> I take a deep breath, looking out into the clear, blue sky, and think about what an awful day it is to have a war on. Because I know that sooner than later, the sky is going to be filled with smoke, things will be burning, and L’Manburg… </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Well. We know what’ll happen with them. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The sharp blades tickle my skin as I sit, pinching at the grass so they cut because of my nails. I turn my gaze to the towering laws of L'Manburg that stand in front of me, unmoving. They sit just across the river, and my heart twists for the poor nation that lays inside. To enlist two children and one's own son into his army to fight in a war he started...in my eyes, it's nothing short of cruel on Wilbur's part. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> War is an unforgiving master, with whom I have experience. And, as one could assume from my current age, it softens for no one, child or adult. If 40% of Wilbur's army consists of children, then so be it. I will be war's vessel, and deliver its unrelenting fierceness to whoever it deems fit. Thus is the way it should be. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> As if on cue, death messages start to pop up in chat, one after another after another. After one in the beginning from none other than Tommy, the rest seem to be coming overwhelmingly from Tubbo, who is being mercilessly killed over and over again by various members of my team. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I can't help but feel sick as they increase in frequency before stopping abruptly, and I let out an exhale. He must have destroyed his bed. I rise from the grass and dust myself off, whistling a slow song to myself as I wait from my teammates to show up. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> And show up they do. As I see them approaching me from a distance, I put on my Netherite armour -- from Dream, of course. Sure, I worked tirelessly on my own for Netherite stuff yesterday, but I'll take handouts over using my own material. That way, I won't be losing anything at all if they ask for it back. Genius, I know. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I pluck on the strap of the small quiver of arrows that sits on my back, all of which are enchanted with Fire Aspect and Loyalty. I lean on my axe as I wait for out earpieces to sync before immediately questioning, "Hey boys -- what was that all about?" </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream kicks the ground in disgust and frustration. “Tubbo, he tried to portal-trap us and it backfired, but when we killed him, it sent him back to his jungle base and he put all the stuff he’d collected for L’Manchildburg in an Enderchest.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I deadpan at the four grown men who stand in front of me, sigh, close my eyes, and pinch the bridge of my nose. “That doesn't explain why he died like, forty-five times under the span of a minute." </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Silence. I let out another exasperated sigh, standing up straight, turning around and starting to walk away, just as Sapnap quietly says, “I got mad.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> We all trek to L’Manburg’s walls, swiftly making out way up just as Tubbo and Tommy reconvene in the Hto Dog Van. As soon as we make it up, I, with little hesitation, equip my boy, pulling out an arrow and aiming at Tommy through a half slab. </em>
</p><p><em> I might be useless at swordfights and using fishing rods. I might be generally okay but still not amazing at fighting with an axe. But if you give me a cross/bow and an arrow or a trident, I </em> <em> will </em> <em> wreak havoc on the battlefield. </em></p><p>
  <em> I let the first arrow fly, and I can see the thin, notched head embed itself into Tommy’s arm and light his shirt aflame. The rest of my teammates, similar (and even greater) in skill, squatting, standing, or just plain sitting on L’Manburg’s large black walls. The fire ripping through the grass doesn't spread or grow large enough to cause any real damage, but it does set the scene and run the beautiful day's sky like I'd expected. </em>
</p><p><em> Given that all of our arrows come back to our quivers, we continue the onslaught for a couple more minutes, chattering about random things until a message </em> <em> finally </em> <em> pops up in chat… </em></p><p>
  <strong> <em>WilburSoot joined the game</em> </strong>
</p><p><em> “Oh, finally,” Sapnap says excitedly, letting loose another arrow. “Now we can get this party </em> <em> started </em> <em> !” </em></p><p>
  <em> We all let out similar whoops of elation, myself letting out my own “hell yeah.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> We all blatantly ignore the crap Tommy nervously spouts in chat...or at least, I do. I hear Punz mutter a quiet, “what the f--k,” but I keep my eyes trained on the Hto Dog Van. I can see the panicked army shuffling around through the windows, and my eyes narrow as I lock onto a specific bit of movement. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I pull an arrow out and switch to my crossbow, staying perfectly still until Tommy steps out of the doorway. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I waste no time in releasing the arrow with deadly accuracy, watching it go straight through the young boy’s skull and probably out the other side. Before he can even react, he disappears in a cloud of smoke, respawning back inside. I can hear their panicked screeches from all the way up here, and I snicker. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> George holds out his hand for a high five, and I happily oblige, flashing a grin at the (taller/shorter) teammate. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Alright, I think that’s enough messing around.” Dream states through quiet chuckles, turning around and jumping down to the tower we used to get up here. Punz follows immediately, Sapnap and I rise from our squatting positions, and George stands up from sitting. “Let’s get over to Tommy’s house -- Skelpie, you know what you’re doing there, right?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I roll my eyes and scoff as I drop from the tower and onto the grass, landing in a kneeling position and straightening before crossing my arms. “Of course. We only went over it like, eighteen times.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream just chuckles. “Mmm...better safe than sorry, right?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I let lose a wicked grin for nobody to see, bu I let the intent leak all-too-clearly into my voice, hissing, “We’ won’t be the ones that are sorry after this is over.” </em>
</p><p>“Skelpie, I think you’re taking this a <em> bit </em> too seriously…” George says jokingly, trailing off.</p><p>I stop moving in-game abruptly, having to hold myself back from bursting into a fit of laughter. I turn to face George’s character. “George, friend, that’s my thing. I take everything seriously. I once carried a Minecraft rebellion on my shoulders and assassinated a king over a stack of wood. <em> Birch </em> wood, no less.”</p><p>“Ew.”</p><p><em> “Exactly.” I cock my head to the side, staring down George’s brown eyes. “I take this seriously because war </em> <em> is </em> <em> serious. Unless you don’t think so?” </em></p><p>
  <em> George takes a slight step backwards, waving his hands in front of him. “No, of course it’s serious, I was just saying --” </em>
</p><p>“George, just let me roleplay.” I sigh, and I can see my chat -- which is in sub-only mode for the sake of my spoiler-free needs -- fill up with LULs out of the corner of my eye.</p><p>“This is the same person that writes a fanfiction every time she plays among Us, Gogy,” Sapnap says in a light tone, and if I could dlare at him through the camera, I would. “Let her roleplay.”</p><p>“Shut the f--k up.”</p><p>
  <em> We eventually make it to Tommy’s house with the L’Manburgians only a few minutes on our reail, thanks to messages sent by Dream telling them where to go. Dream, Punz, and the rest of them climb up the tower just by the little stone house, whilst I’m left on the ground. Waiting. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I’m almost disappointed when their army shows up. They’re really making this far too easy for the lot of us. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> None of them notice me as I pull out my flint and steel, their eyes trained on my comrades, fully donned in Netherite while they have a mix and match of diamond and the precious, rare medal. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> They don’t even notice when I strike the flint and steel just over the pile of TNNT that lays at my feet, lighting it effectively. Heads only start to turn when I book it up the tower as fast as humanly (for the most part) turning my head around to meet confused faces that slowly turn horrified as the ground beneath them starts to explode, blasting dirt and stone sky high. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> My ears ring as I continue to climb, finally reaching the top as I begin to hear things normally again. Apparently, all of them seemed to survive the explosion, a notion at which I scowl fiercely. I once again pull out my bow, ready to finish them off, but I find no targets to lock onto. I lower my weapon in confusion just as Punz questions, “Did they run away already?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I nod slowly and point at the ground, my finger following faint movement. “Yeah, look at their nametags. I think they fled into the sewers.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Sapnap leans forward, his upper body over the edge of the tower as the grips the edge. There’s a dangerous glint in his eyes that sends a twinge of fear coursing down my spine as he yells, “C’MERE AND FIGHT US, YOU BUNCHA COWARDS!” </em>
</p><p><em> “Yo, chile, I think they heard you, Samsung.” I pull my bow back up and Sapnap punches me as I see the aforementioned nametags start to rise back up. But this time, when I see Tommy step from the entrance, </em> <em> he </em> <em> lets an arrow fly before I can. By all means, it shouldn’t hit me. My altitude, the wind, my raw talent, his lack thereof, the odds just aren’t in his favor at the moment. </em></p><p>
  <em> But it does hit me. And f--k, does it hurt. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I stumble backwards with a hiss, wasting no time in pulling the thin arrow out of my shoulder. As I know that I won’t bleed out in this scenario, I’m free to be as reckless as I want, putting myself back into position. We release arrows down onto the L’Manburgians, but they return fire with as much force as they have. Most of their arrows don’t even hit us, but the ones that do land in incredibly inconveniently painful spots. I continue letting arrows fly as fast as I possibly can, but my teammates slowly start to back up, and Dream yells, “Ponk’s tower, we’ll have have the higher ground there, let’s go!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I roll my eyes and back up from the ledge to follow them down the tower, and I can hear the other side yelling cheers. I follow my team as we book it towards Ponk’s tower, entering the black structure and climbing up the ladder behind Dream and George, Punz and Sapnap trailing behind me. My arms are tired by the time we reach the top, and my shoulder still burns from the arrow that landed earlier, but I still position myself at the edge and try to aim at the other army, who disappears behind some buildings. I roll my eyes and stand up, eating to fill my health back up and heal the wounds scattered around my body. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream’s expressionless porcelain mask seems to radiate discomfort and disapproval as he stares out into the distance. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I genuinely have no idea where they could be until George yells, “Up there, they’re on Punz’s tower!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> My head snaps up to the significantly taller tower, and my mind flips into a different gamemode. Wilbur is standing on the edge, so I shoot at him with my crossbow to try and knock him off, but he just lands on the inside of the tower. I try and fire again, but my arrows fall just short of hitting their targets. The rest of my team seems to be facing the same predicament. </em>
</p><p><em> On the other hand, as the L’Manburgians have the higher ground, they have no problem reaching us, and we’re all forced on the defence. I catch an arrow in my shield and glare at the person who sent it. His own gaze is partially obscured by his bow, but I can still clearly see the smile on Tubbo’s round face. It’s enough to make me </em> <em> furious </em> <em> . </em></p><p>
  <em> I turn to Dream, who’s having a hard time on is own, and I yell, “We need to get out of here, they clearly have the advantage --” </em>
</p><p><em> “No, </em> <em> no </em> <em> , we’re not leaving, we’re </em> <em> not </em> <em> losing to -- to L’Manchildberg. Keep firing!” </em></p><p>
  <em> I scowl and look back, letting out a shriek as I see an arrow heading straight towards me, giving me next to no time to react. I brace for the impact, but none comes. I feel the brush of feathers on my neck and the whiz of the arrow flying just past my shoulder and nothing else. I whip around -- the arrow is embedded in the blackstone, and Eret doesn’t look particularly upset that they missed. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Dr -- Dream, I’m going to die, I’m going to die!” Sapnap suddenly yells, and I wince at the multiple stained and ripped parts of his shirt poking out from underneath his armor. His face is locked in a permanent grimace, and he puts his bow away in exchange for food as he backs up. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Punz also puts his weapon away. “Dream, we need to go. This isn’t going anywhere.” I nod and let one last arrow soar, which manages to get through a chink in Fundy’s diamond armor before backing up. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “He’s right, man,” I sigh. “We can head back to our territory, plan on what to do next, but we need to get out of the line of fire.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream’s face is masked, of course, so I can’t tell exactly how he’s feeling, but I can assume from his body language and posture that he’s probably pised beyond all human comprehension. Suddenly, he relaxes, and I immediately feel terrified. He has something. </em>
</p><p>“Right,” he says, and I hear typing from the other end. I tilt my head to the side and frown before shrugging it off.<em> “Let’s head down, and Skelpie, I need you to follow close behind.” </em></p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>
  <em> I find myself standing in a small room with Dream. He closed up the tunnel behind the two of us, and I lean on the dirt with my arms crossed. I tilt my head to the side. “You gonna explain what this is all about or am I gonna stay in the dark until you do whatever it is y’all are doing?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream just turns back towards me almost apologetically with a shrug. “Just -- when you get in there, start slashing s--t -- stuff, sorry.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I chuckle, disguising the nervousness in my voice. “Don’t apologize to me, apologize to Bad when he watches this.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He lets out a short laugh, and my brows furrow as he turns away. What could this possibly be? A grinder of some sort? No, I’m just ignoring the worst possibility. This is a trap. And I  know exactly for who. The only question is, how will it be executed? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I keep completely still, trying to listen as I begin to hear voices coming from the other side of the thin layer of stone ahead of us. Dream immediately stiffens, and my blood runs cold as I recognise the deep voice. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “This, gentlemen,” Eret says. “Is the Final Control Room.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> My blood runs cold and I grit my teeth. A traitor. I should have expected this from Dream, he’s never been one to forfeit using dirty tactics to get what he wants. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I flash a smile at Dream when he turns around to me, probably wondering why I went completely still. I can’t see his eyes, but I have a feeling that they’re narrowed. The way his shoulders have tensed and raised slightly, his sword arm twitching...he sees my expression. I’m unsettled by something. I summon Swindled, tilting my head from side to side as I toss the axe in my hand a bit, and I ask, “When are we moving?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “As soon as the wall opens up, duh.” He replies lightly, and I let out an inward sigh of relief when he turns away. I focus my attention back on the chatter from the ‘Final Control Room.’ </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Hey, what does this button do?"<br/></em>
</p><p>
  <em> The wall is suddenly pulled to the side, and I can clearly see the room ahead of me as Dream jumps out. The chests lining the walls, the button on the floor in the centre of the room, the blackstone walls -- if it was real, it would have been an ultimate moment, a perfect comeback to a war that seemed to be slowly slipping through the L’Manburgian’s fingers. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I step towards the edge of the hole, and I can see the light of hope drain from all of their eyes as the weight of the situation dawns on them. </em>
</p><p><em> The next few moments are a blur -- I can hear Wilbur exclaim something or another over the screaming, but the only thing that truly registers is the look of betrayal on his face when Wilbur reaches </em> <em> my </em> <em> eye. I take a slight step back, and before I can do anything else, I see a sword plunge itself into his back and come out the front. </em></p><p>
  <em> In the blink of an eye, Wilbur and his entire army are gone in clouds of smoke. </em>
</p><p><em> Tubbo_ was slain by Sapnap using </em> <b> <em>[Sapnap's Schlong]</em> </b> <em> <br/></em> <em> TommyInnit hit the ground too hard whilst trying to escape Dream </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> WilburSoot was slain by Punz using </em> <b> <em>[Punzo Blade of Justice]</em> </b> <em> <br/></em> <em> ItsFundy was slain by GeorgeNotFound </em></p><p>
  <em> I step down out of the hole shakily, and I turn to see Eret leaning in their own, arms crossed, sunglasses perched precariously on their nose with a slight grin. I can see their reflective white eyes clearly for once in my life. It’s a smug look, an expression I rarely ever see on the guy, but it’s there nonetheless. </em>
</p><p>“Wait, wait, sorry, I need to close my door really quick, I’ll be right back.” I mute myself on the Discord and run to the door. I poke my head out and almost break into a fit of laughter when I see Casey standing outside of his room, holding his phone, one earbud in, his expression blank. He looks traumatized.</p><p>I flash him an apologetic smile and close the door and <em> lock </em> it before sitting back down at my seat.</p><p>
  <em> “Holy mother of s--t…” I mutter, and everyone laughs. I force a smile of my own before jutting a lighthearted (but not lighthearted at all, really) finger towards Dream. “Why didn’t you tell me about this -- why didn’t any of you tell me about this?!” </em>
</p><p>“Well, you said that you’d be streaming, and everyone would tell Tommy and Wilbur or whatever about it if you knew, so we had to keep it a secret until now.” Dream almost sounds sheepish, and I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.</p><p>“...fair.”</p><p>
  <em> I smile and join in on the cheers of my teammates, but they aren’t real. They feel...hollow. Just like the rest of my actions in this war so far. As a member of this team, I should be elated, ecstatic, even, at such an easy and concrete, foolproof victory. Who would have expected a traitor? It was a genius play. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> But that’s exactly the reason why I can’t help but see the mortified look on Fundy’s face as George slit his throat with a Netherite sword. I can’t help but remember how enraged Tommy was, as if he was ready to make heads roll as he uselessly tried to defend (and then flee) from Dream. How scared Tubbo looked as he was backed into the corner and stabbed directly through the stomach by Sapnap, who looked as if the act made him the happiest he’d been in a while. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wilbur’s burning look of everything combined and more, a look of unhinged rage and fury, overwhelming sadness and fear, and betrayal. A look of betrayal that came from all sides. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I could see something break. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I shake my head and snap myself back to the present reality, trailing behind my teammates as they exit the tunnel, patting Eret on the back all the while. Once we make it outside, we stand on the outside of L’Manburg’s walls, crossing the river and making our way back to DreamSMP territory. I take a step back and stop. George translate around with a confused expression and questions, “What is it, Skelpie?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I take another step back as everyone turns to me. “Holy s--t -- I need to go put something away, I shouldn’t have this on me, I’ll be back in a jiff, sorry!” </em>
</p><p>I leave the VC and book it in the other direction, back towards my house.</p><p>“Okay, chat, I may or may not have been hiding something that’s super super important from all of you, maybe.” I wince as my chat speeds up, yelling at me and asking where I’m going.</p><p>
  <em> The dry, burnt soil crunches under my feet as I dash towards my house, the sun falling from the sky. I ignore the chat popping up in my vision, Eret questioning where I’m going. If I’m to make this smooth, I have no time to answer. And I absolutely do not want to talk to Eret of all people anyways right now. No-good, dirty, rotten turncoat. </em>
</p><p>“It’s, uhh,” I scratch the back of my neck quickly, readjusting to head through the iron doors defending my darkly lit household. I hop into the hole in the corner, landing safely in the water before immediately clambering out and looking into a specific chest.</p><p>
  <em> I rummage through the chest before grabbing one specific item -- a stone button. Without hesitation, I rush up to a specific block on the ground, sticking down the button and stomping on it. The wall in front of me pulls apart, revealing a stairway leading downwards. I dash through it, skipping two steps at a time, my movement almost putting out the soul torches lining the wall. </em>
</p><p>“This is why I had to keep my inventory empty, and why I had to be so overtly mean, and why I didn’t do much in the previous battles, and why I did so much mining on my own yesterday.” I open up the chat.</p><p>
  <em> You whisper to WilburSoot: I think it’s time. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I reach the bottom of the staircase, where two large chests and one small chest stacked upon one another rest, pushed against the wall. I take a shuddering breath, steeling my nerves and rushing towards the chests, throwing them all open. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Inside the bottom and top large chests are two sets of enchanted diamond armor, unused and with Protection III. I smile slightly, remembering the lengths I went through yesterday to get all of this. Strip mining, going AFK at the EXP farm, more strip mining...I wince. It was awful. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> That isn't even mentioning what's in the top chest, though. I stand on my toes to push it open, reaching inside and grabbing the five items waiting patiently to be used. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I stare down at the full set of Netherite armor in my hands, admiring it silently. The first Netherite anything that I make on my own, and I'm giving it away...I shake my head. All for a good cause, of course. I made the person who's getting this a sword, since he isn't particularly a 1.16 PVP god like Dream is. Simple and cost-effective -- easily the best option for him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I place down my Ender chest, filing everything already in my inventory into it...and one set of the diamond armor. If I wasn’t so angry, I’d be thankful to Eret for turning on L’Manburg. They left me an extra set of armor to use, how cool is that? </em>
</p><p><em> If </em> I wasn’t so angry. Trust me, though, <em> I am. </em></p><p>I line all of the armor up neatly into my inventory before turning to the camera. ”Hey, chat? Don’t snitch. It’s kind of d--kish. Anyways,” I clap my hands together, positioning back over the keyboard. “Let’s get to  work.”</p><p>
  <em> WilburSoot whispers to You: dont come anywhere near this country </em>
</p><p>I freeze in my tracks, outwardly saying, “What the f--k?” The chat message takes me by surprise, especially since everything I’m carrying right now is basically for the person in question.</p><p><em> You whisper to WilburSoot: wth do you mean by that? </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> WilburSoot whispers to You: eret was a dirty trick, (Y/N) </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> WilburSoot whispers to You: i didn’t think you had it in you </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to WilburSoot: what? Im literally doing the same thing for you right now? </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to WilburSoot: and in any case, nobody told me about eret, i swear. im so, SO pissed off at them, you don’t even </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to WilburSoot: well. im sure you do understand. </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> WilburSoot whispers to You: yeah, sure </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> WilburSoot whispers to You: (Y/N), if you come within my view, I’m going to kill you. </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to WilburSoot: You’re sorely mistaken if you think I care, Wilbur. </em></p><p>“He’s off his rockers if he thinks I’m gonna stay away because of his paranoia, chat.” I say through gritted teeth. “Unlike Eret, I wasn’t offered any compensation --” I turn and dash up the stairs, hitting the button to exit. “I’m not suddenly the -- the ‘queen of L’Manburg’ --” I say in a mocking tone, rushing down the Prime Path and towards the large black walls, doing my best to stay out of sight. “I only lost things. I lost hours off of my life spent playing Minecraft, I lost sleep, I lost…” I clear my throat uncomfortably, scowling. “I’m going to lose an alliance with the most powerful man on the server.” I stand on the hill just outside of the walls, jumping from side to side to get someone, anyone’s attention. No doubt Wilbur has already leaked the information about my betrayal to his allies, which isn’t a problem.</p><p>Finally, Wilbur comes out of his safe space, immediately equipping a bow and arrow when he notices me. I jump from the top of the hill to the middle-bottom, taking fall damage. Just to make it easier for him.</p><p><em> WilburSoot whispers to You: Leave or I shoot. </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> WilburSoot whispers to You: This is your final warning. </em> <em> <br/></em> <em>You whisper to WilburSoot: Go ahead, Wilbur. It’s okay.</em></p><p>As soon as the message is sent, I get pelted with a flurry of arrows. I make no attempt to move or dodge, and eventually, I run out of hearts.</p><p>
  <em> Skelpie was slain by WilburSoot. </em>
</p><p>I sit in the death menu and turn to my chat. I see Wilbur run up to pick up all the stuff I dropped, and a glance down, smiling. “I suppose I’m gaining something back. The trust of my friends.”</p><p>I shift and stare directly into the camera. “To reiterate -- I’m not doing this because Wilbur promised me anything.”</p><p>I press ‘play again’ and respawn.</p><p>“I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do.”</p><p>I press ‘t’ to send one final fleet of whispers to Wilbur.</p><p><em> You whisper to WilburSoot: The Netherite is for Tommy, Wilbur. </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to WilburSoot: He’s gonna be the one to start the beginning of the end, the end of the beginning. </em> <br/>You whisper to WilburSoot: And I want to help guide you all.</p><p>I hesitate for a moment before adding:</p><p>
  <em> You whisper to WilburSoot: Trust me, Wilbur. Only time you’ll ever have to. </em>
</p><p>I wait for a moment, muttering, “C’mon Wilbur, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon…” My chat behaves similarly, and we all wait with bated breath before --</p><p>
  <em> WilburSoot whispers to You: join vc3 </em>
</p><p>I pump a fist into the air and join the other VC nigh instantaneously, hopefully nobody on Dream’s side noticing.</p><p>I clap my hands together and immediately start, “Okay, soo --”</p><p>“Skelpie,” Tommy interrupts, and I have half a mind to tell him off right then and there, but I refrain. “Where the hell did you get all of these materials from?”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s what I wanna know!” Tubbo says, and my anger diffuses. “Did you convince Dream to /give you this stuff?”</p><p>Fundy scoffs. “You just joined the server like, three days ago, there’s no way you just mined it...right?”</p><p>I look absolutely taken aback before flashing a hollow, dead smile. “Oh no, of course not. Prior to exactly 12PM today, I spent thirty-six continuous hours on the server. No sleep, nothing.” I ignore the exclamations from the group of battered L’Manburgians, and I yawn, waiting for them to finish before saying, “If you’re done now, I have a well-thought-out plan I need to explain.You guys lost all of your s--t because of Eret, but now? You’re all back in the runnings.”</p><p>I turn west to watch the setting sun as it falls from the sky, plummeting behind trees like a rock detaching and falling from a cliff’s edge, tumbling into the empty depths below. I allow myself the smallest of smiles before replacing it with a look of pure determination. I turn to look at the walls of L’Manburg, the moon just starting to peek out behind them, and I feel a swell of confidence in my chest.</p><p> “Here’s the plan, boys -- we’ve got a country to emancipate.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Remember when I said this chapter would be long? Lol.</p><p>Most of this was actually written on paper, so that probably helped make it shorter, haha. I was torn, because on one hand, I didn't want to sit on the computer and write because i'M oN mY bReAk, and on the other hand, I didn't want to be on a break so I wrote on paper in me free time, lmao. Anyways, here, hope you enjoy!</p><p>I just had to do what I did -- if Skelpie wasn't on L'Manburg's side...well. The emoional answer is "id feel sooo bad about what im going to do with her alliances later," but the actual answer is "i just wouldn't be able to do what ive planned." The IRL plot points? they barely exist. In-game DreamSMP stuff? I've known what I wanted to happen for several months at this point. Yikes.</p><p>(Fun fact, I wrote everything from 'okay chat i might have been hiding something from all of you' etc and onwards about a month ago. It's jut been sitting in another document until this moment.)</p><p>OH OH OH AND THANK YOU FOR 6400+ READS AND WE HIT 500 KUDOS POGCHAMP!!!! I LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Independence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>You fight for a nation of friends.</p><p>CW/TW: Stabbing, shooting, basic Minecraft things. More cursing than usual. Author making the 'assumption' (headcanon) that everyone had the Three Lives system prior to Wilbur seeing it on Reddit. It just works better!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>
  <em> I walk back to the group with all my armor off, hands shoved into the pockets of my jeans as I return with a care-free attitude. There’s definitely suspicion on me -- Dream is too eagle-eyed to not notice my joining of the VC with the L’Manburgians. Thankfully, I’m a master of lies and deceit. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I walk up to them with a slight wave, saying, “Hey guys, sorry about that. I’m back!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Sapnap flashes me a smile and starts to say a greeting, but he’s instantly cut off by Dream distrustfully asking, “What was that all about?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream menacingly stalks towards me, but I keep myself looking calm under the innate threat of death. My heart hammers in my chest so hard, I’m almost afraid that they’ll all be able to hear it. I know what Dream’s capable of -- I wouldn’t put painfully executing me far past him. And if not, permanent exile isn’t too far out there either. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> But of course, none of these thoughts are clearly displayed on my face. Even as Dream (looms over me/stands menacingly ahead of me), I make a slightly exasperated face, widening my eyes and glancing to the side, saying, “Oh, you wouldn’t believe it -- I had a totem of freakin’ undying in my inventory for whatever reason. I had to put it away, wouldn’t want it falling into the wrong hands if I died. I don’t really wanna use it now.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Sapnap, Eret, and George all nod understandingly and say that they get it, but Dream doesn’t move, and Punz looks generally distrusting. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken directly to Punz, so I don’t particularly care about him, but Dream’s lack of acknowledgment makes me unsettled. He shifts and crosses his arms, leaning on one leg. “Okay...that doesn’t explain why you were in L’Manburg’s VC, Skelpie. And the death message that showed up in chat?” </em>
</p><p><em> Almost immediately, I catch George shift uncomfortably, standing in a defensive manner towards me. Sapnap raises an eyebrow but doesn’t move in any other way. Eret looks on with a bit of bored curiosity as if they have better things to be doing. (I really, </em> <em> really </em> <em> want to punch them.) Essentially, George thinks I’m suspicious, Sapnap doesn’t, I can’t really get a read on Punz, and Eret doesn’t care. I crack my knuckles behind my back. I can work with that. </em></p><p>
  <em> “Stop makin’ it sound like I did something wrong, I went to go make fun of them. Like, okay,” I grin and start to chuckle through my words as if I’m remembering something hilarious. “I’m ‘good friends’ with Tommy or whatever, right? The kid is screaming and cursing like a sailor, and Wilbur is basically in tears, he’s so upset.” I can hear Dream’s quiet chuckle through the rest of the team’s laughter and I let my smile grow wider and meaning before continuing, “Tubbo is practically in shock, he said like, two things overall, and Fundy just ignored me so he could ask his daddy what they’we aww supposewed to do.” I take up a mocking tone at the end there. I feel awful about making fun of them like this, but it needs to happen. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I took some fall damage while I was going to watch them cry, and Wilbur managed to off me with a crossbow from the walls. All my stuff is in my Enderchest, though, so he didn’t get anything from it.” I take the Enderchest out of my inventory and place it down, taking out my priceless armour and axe and putting it into my inventory. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream waves his hand nonchalantly with a laugh, turning away, and internally let out a sigh. George also relaxes, and Punz looks at me with narrowed eyes before sticking down an Enderchest of his own and rummaging through it. I chuckle slightly. “You guys really f----d ‘em up, that was a perfect plan.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I was the last person they’d expect,” Eret says, and I put up a strained smile. “And what I was offered...was just far too good to turn down.” </em>
</p><p><em> There’s something I never considered. I cock my head to one side and ask, “Oh yeah...Eret, exactly </em> <em> what </em> <em> were you offered?” </em></p><p>
  <em> Dream answers for them, turning back towards us from the chat screen with a smile. “Pay your respects to King Eret of the DreamSMP, if you please.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> My blood runs cold before beginning to boil. </em>
</p><p><em> I don’t let my disgust show on my face. “Kingship, huh? You’d be a fool to turn </em> <em> that </em> <em> down. You made the right choice.” </em></p><p>
  <em> Eret nods sagely. “Indeed. The most powerful country on the server…” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream suddenly clears his throat and says, “Wilbur wants to talk. I doubt it’s going to be terms of surrender, so I’ll be back in a few minutes -- wait here until I say otherwise.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The group gives murmurs of affirmation, and I raise my hand in a lazy salute as he leaves. </em>
</p><p>“I’ll be back in a minute, everyone, I’m getting bombarded with donos -- I’ll be there for another hour if I wait ‘till after-stream.” I mute and deafen before leaning on my hands with a loud groan. “Chaaat...being a traitor is <em> stressful. </em> Dream needs to stop big-braining or I’ll actually have to start trying.” I make a wild gesture of exasperation with my hands. “And here’s the thing, chat, you all saw how annoyed I was at Eret -- I can’t even be mad at them! <em> Kingship </em> for betraying that scruffy little group of nobody -- this is OOc, by the way -- who are rebelling for virtually no reason? It’s -- it’s perfect! I would have done the same thing!”</p><p>I shake my head and glance at the chat, who generally seem to agree -- or at least, they understand my reasoning. I start to chuckle darkly. “Dream is way too smart. Think about it -- <em> kingship? </em> It’s literally called the ‘DreamSMP.’ Eret is going to be one of those royals that does nothing but sit and look very, very pretty. Emperor/shogun type beat, y’know? Eret has the title, Dream has the power.” I sigh and turn back to Minecraft, rubbing my temples slightly. “It’s all part of the master plan. Dream only gained from that deal -- he didn’t lose a single bit.”</p><p>As soon as I zone back in, I see a message from Dream pop up in chat.</p><p>
  <em> Dream whispers to You: Go to L’Manburg’s gates, we’re executing the plan. </em>
</p><p>“Well, at least I know about this one,” I mutter. I assume that everyone else got the same message and start to trek towards the large, black walls. I think back to what I told Wilbur and co. regarding this ‘plan’ of his.</p><p>“There’s TNT,” I had said. “Underground. I don’t think there’s too much -- I wasn’t there when I hid it, but I doubt he’s had this plan for that long. I’d expect it to be focused...well, under the Camarvan. But you can’t take it out or move it, they’ll know that someone snitched and I’m already going to be suspicious. Please -- don’t die.”</p><p>I wince inwardly. I only told them that there wasn’t much TNT to help keep them calm. Dream is a literal god with unlimited access to any resources he needs. Even if he won’t use that, killing a bunch of creepers with a Looting III sword wouldn’t be too hard for a guy like him. The way I see it, L’Manburg will be a smoking hole in the ground in about two minutes. I just hope nobody is killed in the blast. That would be bad for a multitude of reasons.</p><p>I run through my own plan in my head over and over, fiddling with the feathers of an arrow out of sheer nervousness. It could easily go wrong in so many ways -- we’re dealing with the most talented people on the server, here. We have the element of surprise on our side and basically nothing else.</p><p>I can only pray that that’s enough. We meet Dream at the gate of L’Manburg, standing behind a single piece of TNT. To anyone who doesn’t know the plan, it’d seem more petty than anything else, a mere annoyance. To everyone present, though, it’s far deadlier than it seems.</p><p>I won’t lie, I zone out a bit during Dream’s threatening, having a bit of a conversation through facial expressions with Tommy, who stands to the side of Wilbur. He looks absolutely filled with nervous and angry energy, not being able to stay in the same position for more than a few moments. I can’t tell specifically what the nervousness is from, oddly enough. His face, for once, gives nothing specific away.</p><p>“Independence...or death.” I tune back in to hear Wilbur speaking directly to Dream. “If we get no revolution, then we want nothing. We would rather die...than give in to you and join your SMP.”</p><p>I feel my heart swell with something akin to pride. I can see it in everyone else, too -- Wilbur’s bold words stick a match under our souls, starting a roaring flame fuelled by righteousness and passion. I watch as the L’Manburgians stand taller, straighter, and I can’t help but do the same.</p><p>Dream sees the shift, too. There’s no way he doesn’t. He watches and reads people almost as well as I do. He does nothing but eye them up before shrugging, taking out his flint and steel. He turns and shoves and shoos us a few feet backward, and I hear Tommy make fun of him for it in the distance. He turns back to the TNT.</p><p>“Suit yourself.”</p><p>He strikes the flint and steel and immediately books it out of the gateway, beckoning the rest of us to follow. I only take a few steps back, my eyes glued to the inside of the walls, my morbid curiosity getting the best of me as the TNT explodes.</p><p>There’s a small moment of silence before the rest of the TNT is triggered and L’manburg effectively begins to become a crater.</p><p>I turn and jog towards my cheering 'comrades,’ biting back tears and bile and rage and letting out the loudest whoop of my life, punching the air in pure ecstasy and jumping. There’s no way they can recover from that. The war is over. Their little rebellion has been crushed under the steel-toed boot that is the DreamSMP.</p><p>I let the rage fester in my heart, swirling around and infecting my thoughts, turning them violent and irrational. I’ll need to clear my head before the final moment.</p><p>One thing is already clear to me, though.</p><p>I will be the one to crush Dream.</p><p>And I will savor the moment.</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>The pieces are in place. The sunset illuminates the scene perfectly -- though it sinks fast, what will happen here is bound to be faster, one way or another.</p><p>Tommy put on his own perfect little show, challenging Dream to a 1v1 with <em> very </em> specific conditions.</p><p>
  <em> I stepped in and cut Tommy off, manifesting a book out of nowhere and offering to write down the specific terms of Tommy’s value offer. Dream let me, of course, as I’ve already made a name for myself in creating fancy-sounding documents. </em>
</p><p><em>I cleared my throat and read it aloud after I finished twisting it to perfection. “The book is entitled TO</em> <em>MMYINNIT V. DREAM DUEL COMMANDMENTS, and it reads as follows: “The following rules must be abided by in full, else rule number eight will come into full play and the results of the duel will be invalidated. Number one: Upon arriving at the dueling site, participants will remove all armour and effects and lower their health down to half a heart. Two: Participants will equip one bow and as many unenchanted, unaltered arrows as desired. Three: Participants will turn their backs to each other. An external party will count up from one to ten, with one step being taken on each number. Four: At the end of the count, the external party will say, “fire,” and the two participants will turn and fire at one another. Five: The first participant to be killed loses the duel. Six: Neither participant may heal prior to someone dying. Seven: Neither participant may equip armour prior to someone dying. Eight: Failure to comply with any and all rules will result in an automatic and irrevocable loss of all rewards that would have normally been obtained from the next two rules. Nine: If TommyInnit is to win the duel (Dream dies), L’Manburg is to be its own independent nation, but still recognized as a part of the DreamSMP by Dream. Ten: If Dream is to win the duel (TommyInnit dies first), L’Manburg will remain a part of the DreamSMP.””</em></p><p>
  <em> I looked up at the two young men standing in front of me. One was zapped with youthful energy, a beacon of excitement and nervousness and anger bundled together all at once, ready to kick ass, take names, and emancipate nations. The other was still, his expression masked but his own slight nervousness clear to anyone who’s looking for it. He has a reputation to uphold, though, and if going through with this duel is what he needs to do to crush this blemish on his prominence, then so be it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I held the book and quill out to them. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Sign, please.” </em>
</p><p>I keep myself muted in the Discord call as I send out and respond to whispers from basically all the L’Manburgians and then some.</p><p><em> You whisper to TommyInnit: Remember, your first course of action is jumping into the water and hiding under the bridge. I’m going to kill dream. Then, and ONLY THEN can you use a gapple and put your armor back on. </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> TommyInnit whispers to You: got it, big man </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to TommyInnit: don’t f--k this up </em></p><p><em> Tubbo_ whispers to You: are you sure this will work? </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to Tubbo_: You can’t be 100% on anything, so no </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to Tubbo_: But it’s better than giving up, right? </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> Tubbo_ whispers to You: right! </em></p><p><em> ItsFundy whispers to You: Skelpie </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to ItsFundy: ? </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> ItsFundy whispers to You: i am NOT good at PVP im not sure this is a good idea </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to ItsFundy: d </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to ItsFundy: dude </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to ItsFundy: they’re armourless and you have full diamond </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to ItsFundy: we’re gonna cream ‘em </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> ItsFundy whispers to You: maybe </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> ItsFundy whispers to You: i cant help but feel that something is going to go wrong, though </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to ItsFundy: it’ll be fine. Flawless plan made by a flawless mind </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> ItsFundy whispers to You: ...if you say so. </em></p><p>
  <em> Sapnap whispers to you: $10 dream wins </em>
</p><p>I tilt my head to the side and chuckle. “Chat, I don’t wanna bankrupt him...that being said, I’m never gonna pass up an opportunity to make a quick buck or thirty, y’know?”</p><p><em> You whisper to Sapnap: coward </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to Sapnap: $30, and I think Tommy’s gonna win </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> Sapnap whispers to You: bet </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> Sapnap whispers to You: ez win skelpie im gonna be 30 dollars RICHER </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> You whisper to Sapnap: oh, i wouldn’t be too sure… </em></p><p>I crack my knuckles and unmute myself, sighing quietly as silly banter basses between just about everyone. I roll my eyes at their general inability to stay serious for long periods of time -- this is a life or death situation here, people. Aside from Wilbur, none of them can seem to stay in-character for more than half an hour at a time.</p><p>
  <em> I tap my foot impatiently. “Can we get this over with already? We’re running on a tight schedule here, with the war and all, I’m sure you’ve heard of it.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wilbur clears his throat, nodding. “Right. Okay. Dream, do you have a splash poison or are you two just going to punch each other down to half a heart?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream hums, taking off all of his armor before pausing. “N...o, wait, give me a second…” He trails off, becoming quite still as he holds out a hand. His mask suddenly begins to glow, and I can see dozens of tiny cracks that seemed to have run through it at some point shine an even brighter light. The sight is mesmerizing. His outstretched hand also begins to glow, and I suddenly see the outline of a bottle manifest in it. And then, all of a sudden, it all shuts off. He stands just as normal as ever, mask pristine, potion bottle still in his hand. Dream grins and shakes it slightly. “Now I’ve got one.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy stares in awe for a few moments before shaking his head, de-equipping his own armour and taking a step closer to the older man. “Go ahead, I haven’t got any effects on me.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream wastes no time in tossing the potion into the air, and I take a slight step back along with Wilbur. I don’t know exactly what the range of the potion is, and I don’t want this to be the way I find out. The bottle hits the wooden path with a crash, and whilst the glass disappears instantaneously, the potion does not. I watch the thick, greenish liquid splash itself everywhere, hitting Tommy and Dream head-on. Dream stays still with nothing more than a slight grimace, but Tommy can’t really keep his composure like that. He immediately lets out a shriek, scratching at his face as the poison burns its way through his skin. I can see his breathing pick up from here. And I turn to Wilbur, who watches in slight horror. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I pull on his coat and he leans over so I can whisper in his ear, “He’ll be fine. He can do this.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wilbur doesn’t respond. He nods slowly and straightens, shifting on the wooden platform that he stands on so he can count down the duel. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wilbur clears his throat yet again and says, “The two of you -- turn your backs to one another. Take a step with each number, then turn to fire when I say so. Clear?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Crystal.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Got it, big man.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wilbur lets out an exhale, and I steel my own nerves, glancing around at my nervous friends. I’m probably going to need to kick this off for everyone, actually does anything, hence why I weaved it into the plan. But really, Tommy needs to get the timing perfect here. It’s all up to him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wilbur begins to count. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “One. Two. Three. Four.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> As each of the boys begins to walk, I can almost see their feelings being projected into the air. Tommy is stiff, slow, and awkward. I can see his hands trembling as he clutches the bow in his hand as if it’s his lifeline. Though tight, his movements are also incredibly weak and unbalanced, his figure shaking with every step like an unstable tower about to topple over. Being on half a heart isn’t pleasant for anyone, but combined with Tommy’s already present nervousness, he looks about as well off as a corpse. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I would have expected Dream to look far better, but even as he takes long, graceful strides, I can see the way that he messes with the string of his bow, keeping his face in a permanent grimace. He’s clearly in just as much pain as Tommy, but he’s far better at (or, at least, is trying harder to be) hiding it. But something about his posture, the way that his steps are so long, they just give me an air of confidence. Cockiness. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I grit my teeth. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Five. six. Seven. Eight.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I turn slightly, manifesting my crossbow and loading in one, unenchanted arrow before quickly hiding it in my inventory. I keep my body turned to where Dream is, and my mind is moving at a thousand miles a minute to try and figure out how to make this one shot I have count. I can’t just...throw it away. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Nine. Ten paces --” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I pull out the crossbow and raise it to eye level. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Fire!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I see an arrow immediately fly towards Dream and miss him completely. I hesitate for a moment, turning to watch Tommy dive into the river and under the bridge as fast as humanly possible as another arrow is sent through the air, this time in Tommy’s direction. I turn back to Dream, who is still for a split second whilst he tries to locate and aim at Tommy. I use that moment to zone in on where I need to hit. It’s slightly hard because of Dream’s arms behind up as he holds the bow, but it isn’t impossible. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I fire at Dream, and I watch as the sharp head of the arrow zips cleanly across the front of his neck. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Instead of dying immediately like I’d presumed he would, he lowers his bow in shock and stumbles backward, his mouth falling slightly agape. My blood runs cold and my stomach drops. Even as my teammates start to jump towards, attack, and fire at the members of the Dream SMP, one thought rings clearly in my mind. </em>
</p><p><em> Dream was at half a heart, got shot, but instead of dying, he’s in the </em> <em> process </em> <em> of dying. </em></p><p>
  <em> I just gave this all-powerful man a perma-death. One of only three. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I see Tommy emerge from the water, donned in fully enchanted armor, and the effects of the gabble he obviously ate floating around him, giving him an aura of power that I don’t think he’s ever had before. I think it suits him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I watch as Tubbo approaches a defenseless, stupefied Sapnap, wasting no time in sending three arrows fly towards him, effectively catching his clothes on fire before finishing the job, both hands gripping an axe that embeds itself halfway through the arsonist’s neck. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I see Fundy from across the river, using a trembling hand to swing his sword across George’s back. The Brit lets out a screech of pain, turning around in shock and fumbling to put on his armour. Fundy takes advantage of the moment to thrust the sword through George’s gut, pulling it upwards and outwards before sending it directly through George’s chest. He doesn’t get a fair chance to react before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. </em>
</p><p><em> Wilbur is clearly in a predicament, being just the worst at PVP. He, for whatever godforsaken reason, merely wields a weapon instead of wearing his armor. Punz starts to put on his own armor, swinging his own weapon towards Wilbur and forcing him to back up. I move to go and help him, but before I can, Tommy jumps in and swings his axe towards Punz, catching him in his shoulder before swinging it down and connecting it with his head. I turn away before I see the results of </em> <em> that </em> <em> move. </em></p><p>
  <em> I make my way to Dream, who’s just about ready to fall over, and grab him by the front of his sweatshirt. I tilt my head to the side as he splutters, mainly out of pain, but there’s also a good bit of disbelief in the mix. I scowl slightly as he opens his mouth to try and speak. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I shove him off the bridge before he gets the chance. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I can’t even hear myself think over the loud screaming in the earpieces, the cheers from my side, the screeches of astonishment and betrayal from Punz, George, and Sapnap...it’s all a bit too much to handle, and I find myself releasing a loud, “QUIET!” of my own. I stick my hands into my jeans’ pockets, sighing in relief as everyone goes silent before straightening. “Dream -- do you have anything to say before giving us independence?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I jump off the side of the bridge and onto the wet grass near the water just as Dream scoffs. “Of course I have something to say, you can’t just interfere like that and call it a win, Skelpie.” I roll my eyes as I kneel in the mud, fishing Dream’s items out of the murky, dark water. “You wrote it yourself, if any of the rules are broken, it’s an automatic turnover.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Ah, but that’s where you’re mistaken, Dream. Guys, leave their stuff for them, don’t pick it up.” I say, carrying everything up and back onto the bridge and dumping it all haphazardly onto the wooden surface. “I didn’t break any rules. None of us did.” I ignore everyone’s words of protest and turn to my blood-splattered allies. “I need someone with a full inventory -- who has a full inventory or just, like, one space left?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I glance around at everyone, who responds with ‘no’s or just shakes their head...everyone except Tommy. He glances around at everyone nervously, looking lost in his own thoughts until I snap my fingers and ask, “Tommy?” </em>
</p><p>The boy audibly startles and freaks out, saying, “Sorry, I was watching something, sorry, yes, I have one open inventory spot, why?”</p><p>
  <em> I shake my discomfort off and say, “Brilliant. Here, catch. I toss my flint and steel to Tommy, who fumbles with it before catching it with a bit of confusion. “Alright -- you see those bozos lining up to try and fight us?” </em>
</p><p><em> I gesture around. The beaten Dream SMP members came to get their stuff back, and they’re a lot more threatening when they're actually </em> <em> wearing </em> <em> their Netherite. They all have weapons in hand, angry faces, and murderous intent. The only reason our heads haven’t begun to roll (much like Sapnap) is most likely because they’re waiting for confirmation. That, or they’re wary. I see this and I chuckle. I turn to look behind me, and I see Dream with nothing but his normal outfit. I can see one clear, thin crack going down the centre of his mask. I turn to Tommy in a ridiculously lighthearted manner. “Everything on the ground right now is Dream’s stuff. If anyone tries anything, Tommy, burn it. To a crisp. Gapples, ender pearls, his stupid crossbow, everything. And just take the Netherite.” </em></p><p><em> Tommy’s eyes widen substantially as he frantically looks from the flint and steel to the pile of stuff to me, nervously stuttering out, “That’s a </em> <em> lot </em> <em> of important s--t Skelpie, I don’t think we should…” </em></p><p>
  <em> Dream has the audacity to scoff from behind me. I turn to him with the most menacing look as he says, “Tommy doesn’t have the guts to do that, he knows how things work around here.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I raise my eyebrows. “Oh, really?” I pull out yet another pair of flint and steel with a sneer. “I’m afraid I’m new here -- I haven’t been properly introduced to your silly little ‘honor system,’ so I’ll gladly do it if Tommy won’t.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “She’ll do it! She’s crazy!” </em>
</p><p>I turn to Fundy in-game before leaning on my hands and starting to crack up, my shoulders shaking as the L’Manburgians all start to laugh. I shake my head and mutter a “God damn it” before releasing a sigh, straightening up, and trying to get back into the mindset.</p><p>
  <em> I turn back to Dream and stand taller, straighter, waving away the flint and steel and putting a hand on my hip, using the other to summon the Duel Commandments. “Tell your men to back off, Dream.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Dream stares (I think) for a few moments, mouth pressed into a thin line before he sighs, shoulders slouching. “Stand down, guys,” he mutters, and I grin, turning to nod at Tommy and walking towards Dream. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I hold out the book to him, which he snatches and opens immediately. I can see him frown slightly, look up at me and everyone around, and shakily pull his mask to the side, revealing a good half of his face before he starts to read. </em>
</p><p><em> I can’t help but stare. I guess I broke it with the permadeath somehow. Seen even just a part of his face is somehow unsettling. I’ve grown so used to reading him without the help of his face that doing so </em> <em> with </em> <em> it, even just half of it, seems almost criminally easy. </em></p><p>
  <em> For a very relevant example, I can clearly see the panic grow on his face as he flips back and forth between the pages, trying to find any way that I could have messed up. “I also specifically told Tommy not to eat his grapple or put on his armour until after your death message showed up in chat,” I offer helpfully, and he glares at me. I shoot him a cloying smile in return, mocking the man. </em>
</p><p><em> Finally, his disbelief and annoyance rises to his voice. “This is...you can’t just...this isn’t </em> <em> fair </em> <em> , you can’t --!” </em></p><p><em> My head snaps up to meet his eyes, and I snatch the book from him, jamming a finger into his chest with a snarl. “Fair? </em> <em> Fair? </em> <em> You really wanna talk about fairness, Dream? Do you really wanna -- do you </em> <em> really </em> <em> wanna have that conversation? What about this scenario is fair, huh? What about Eret was </em> <em> fair </em> <em> ? What about offering them empty kingship for betrayal was fair? I can’t believe you have the f-----g gall to talk about what’s fair or not. You have no Goddamn right, but you know what?” I pull a twisted smile onto my face and take a step back, lowering my hand and raising it up next to me. “I can’t blame you. I say it all the time… </em></p><p>
  <em> “All is fair in love and war. You of all people should know that, Dream.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I spin on my heel and start to walk away towards L’Manburg, beckoning for everyone to follow. “C’mon guys, VC4. Let’s let them lick their wounds -- they’ll come to us when they’re ready.” </em>
</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>Once we’re far enough away, I can’t help but laugh, saying, “Guys, am I allowed a quick OOC moment here, I’m going to have a f-----g heart attack, holy s--t, holy <em> s--t.” </em></p><p>The call erupts into laughter as I lean back in my chair, placing a hand over my racing heart. “Like, oh my God, someone tell me to shut the f--k up next time, <em> please, </em>you can’t just let me ramble on like that!”</p><p>
  <em> We continue to laugh until we finally calm ourselves down. We enter L’Manburg and enter the Camarvan, and I lean on the wall after shutting the birch door behind me. I’m exhausted. Physically, emotionally, and mentally. Emphasis on the first two, I don’t actually feel all that bad about betraying Dream and his band of cronies. He’s a prick, he deserved it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wilbur walks up to me as I try to take a rest and takes my hands up, staring me in the eyes. “Skelpie, you have done...just an amazing g-----g thing for our country tonight. I can’t believe that worked! Can -- can you guys believe that worked? Without a hitch?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tubbo’s eyes widen and he shakes his head. “Honestly, I thought they were just going to kill us again! But, I mean, did you see that? I killed Sapnap in like, three hits, that was crazy!” I let out a quiet ‘aw,’ tilting my head to the side. For whatever reason, Tubbo’s validation warms my heart more than anyone else’s probably could have. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Fundy merely lets out a “yeah…” and I turn to Tommy. The kid doesn’t answer, he just looks generally lost in thought again, and I knit my brows in concern. “Tommy?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “What?!” He cries yet again, jumping slightly. “Yeah, it was a good plan or whatever, what’s the matter?” I let out a sigh and cross my arms. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Tommy, what’s the matter? You’ve been acting weird since the thing happened, what’s going on?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy opens his mouth to answer, probably with a fervent denial of anything being wrong, when a single word appears in chat that almost makes my blood curdle. </em>
</p><p><b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; Tommy.</em> </b> <b><br/></b> <b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; Join VC5, we need to talk.</em> </b> <b> <em><br/></em> </b> <b></b> <em>&lt;Dream&gt; Now.</em></p><p>
  <em> All of our eyes slowly move to Tommy, who isn’t even looking at us. He’s fiddling with the hem of his shirt as he mutters something along the lines of, “Chat, I f----d up, III f----d up bad. Well!” His gaze snaps up to the rest of us as he backs out of the Camarvan, pushing the birch door back open. “Can’t say no to Dream, I’ll be right back, bye!” </em>
</p><p>He disappears from the VC. “What the hell was that all about?”</p><p>
  <em> I shrug at Fundy and think back to what could possibly have made him so nervous, and what Dream would want to speak to him about. I can only think of a few ideas, and none of them are particularly...well, ideal. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Wonder what’s going on with him…” Tubbo mutters, leaning on the countertop and looking out of the window. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I press my back against the walls, biting on a nail before another dreadful thought suddenly occurs to me. “Guys...you don’t think Tommy...y’know, messed it up somehow? Put his armour or ate the grapple before Dream’s death message appeared in chat?” </em>
</p><p><em> “Wh -- they were such simple instructions!” Fundy exclaims. “I don’t think even Tommy could f--k </em> <em> that </em> <em> up!” </em></p><p>
  <em> “It isn’t impossible,” I say quietly. “And what else would dream want with Tommy? Something must’ve happened.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> We all chatter nervously for a couple more minutes, our collective feeling of dread rising with each passing moment with Tommy still nowhere to be found. And then suddenly, out of nowhere and with zero context, a message appears in chat. </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>TommyInnit was slain by Dream using [Definitely Not Penis]</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> A surprised noise falls from my mouth -- Tommy should have immediately spawned back...well, in here. But for a few ghastly moments, he’s gone. He isn’t. When he finally forms, in the back of the van, the room with the bed, flesh forming in front of our eyes in a flash of light, we all bombard him with questions -- “What was that all about?” “What did you do?” “Why did he kill you?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Tommy, still sitting on the bed, keeps his eyes trained on the floor and we quiet down. I can’t see his expression, but the way that his shoulders are tense -- scratch that, everything is tense, and he doesn’t move can at least clue me into the fact that he isn’t feeling particularly good. Though, I’m sure that that was already clear, seeing as how Tommy doesn’t respond for a good while after we ask him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Guys,” he suddenly says, and my shoulder stiffens in grim anticipation. He lifts his head up, and I can see the slight (and incredibly fake) smile on his face. “I’ve secured our independence.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> A stunned silence envelopes the van before there’s an outburst of noise, and Tommy has to wave his hands around before everyone shuts up so he can continue. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Okay, I...may or may not have f----d up. Big time.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Well -- Tommy, what do you mean by that?” Wilbur asks quizzically, and Tommy sighs in frustration -- directed towards himself. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I ate the f-----g grapple, Wil, I ate it before Dream died. I was a complete accident, I just got all panicked and --” He cuts himself off and shakes his head violently before slapping a smile right back on. “Whatever. Apparently, Punz saw it -- </em>
</p><p>“-- which is bulls--t, but the way, people @ted Dream on Twitter with the clip and he just watched it --</p><p>
  <em> “-- and he came up to me all like ‘the duel is overturned, you can go tell your friends that they’ll never be free’ or whatever…” </em>
</p><p><em> “Tommy, just tell us how you got independence, what did you do?” Fundy crosses his arms with a deep scowl and attention shifts to him. “You f----d up the </em> <em> one rule </em> <em> , there’s no way Dream would have just turned it around like that. Did you make him some ridiculous offer? He wants the walls taken down? All of our diamonds? Free entry whenever he wants and pleases -- oh, maybe he wants the carmavan --!” </em></p><p>
  <em> “The discs, Fundy!” The younger boy yells, and Fundy’s mouth snaps shut. I can clearly see the hurt on Tommy’s face as he quietly repeats, “I gave him my discs. And…” His face suddenly darkens, and he looks like he’s aged fifty years. I see him rub at the back of his neck before he shakes his head. “Nevermind. I have him Cat and Mellohi. And he said we could have our independence.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He rises from the bed, fiddling with his hands. “I know this was supposed to be a -- a flawless win or whatever, and I messed it up, and I’m...I’m sorry.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Silence. Everyone seems to be processing the information, trying to figure out the best way to respond. I furrow my brows in confusion and fold my hands together, pointing with both my index fingers. “What in the world are you apologizing for? You just got us our independence, man!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Wh -- well, yeah, only after I lost it in the first place.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I wave my hand dismissively. “We all make mistakes sometimes.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Not all of us make mistakes that cost an entire nation, though…” Fundy mutters. I glare at him before turning to Wilbur. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Your son has a real attitude, Wilbur.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wilbur sighs happily. “I know...he’s a teenager, you know. And he gets it from his mother.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I frown, confused. “And his mother is…?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wilbur smiles. “A salmon.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I blink. Once, twice, and then I give him a strained smile before saying, “We need to write a decree of our independence -- Wilbur? Do you wanna…?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Wilbur beams, grabbing a book out of a chest and exiting the can whilst the rest of us follow. He climbs on the hull before pulling himself up to stand on the top, beginning to write and speak. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Witnessed by Dream, Georgenotfound, Sapnap, and Punz.” He pauses, before scribbling and muttering, “Also Eret, f--k Eret. Signed by President Wilbur -- I’m the president now, we’re not democratic.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> We giggle as he passes the book around for us to sign, not exactly thinking about the potential weight of what he just said. Right now is a time for celebration, and that’s how we’re treating it as he gets the book back. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “As we gaze upon the swaths of redwood trees. The great hills to our south and the walls that have protected for years. I, as the now President L'Manburg hereby state: YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” He yells the last bit at the top of his lungs, and I press my finger against my ear while cracking up. Jesus. “SUCK IT GREEN BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> We all dissolve into intense laughter as Wilbur clears his throat and continues to speak. “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Freedom.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I let out a sigh. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The war is finally over. </em>
</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
</p><p>The stream is finally over.I close out of everything as soon as I possibly can, and as soon as the stream is officially finished, I’m practically willing to fall asleep in my chair right there. I almost do, actually, but I’m snapped back awake when I hear soft knocking from my door. I yawn as I get up to unlock it, being met face-to-face with Casey, who looks slightly displeased as he ushers me towards my bed.</p><p>“Next time you want to stay up for an ungodly amount of time on Minecraft, do it yourself,” he mumbles, not sounding actually angry, more just irked. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened but you’re all tired ‘n’ stuff. Lame.”</p><p>I grumble in response, punching him weakly in the shoulder. I have literally never been this exhausted. I can feel it in my bones as I flop over onto the bed, not even bothering to cover up with my blanket.</p><p>“(Y/N), it’s like six o’clock -- whatever.” I can faintly hear him sigh from what feels like miles away and say in a silly tone of voice, “Goodnight.”</p><p>
  <b>.•☆•.</b>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>my hand flies out of the dirt like a zombie.</p><p>it has been. three weeks. i am so, so sorry.</p><p>anyways, have this! it's 6,000+ words long, hopefully that makes up for it.</p><p>thank you all for the amazing support after this uncalled for hiatus, apparently my brain decided to take my break AFTER I said that I would. whatever. the views and comments and kudos keep me running, I love you all. B)</p><p>hope you enjoy!</p>
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